Realization of Fate
by Scarlet182
Summary: What I didn't know was that even I couldn't run away from my own destiny… *Chapter 17 now up*
1. Home Sweet Home

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic, except the ones that you don't recognize. Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth own them all. This one is going to have more chapters later on. It's a different setup. You'll see what I mean. And I would like to mention Tina and Kristen who inspired me to write this, and twirlgirl04 and Aricraze who gave me some feedback on some stuff on the story.

Note: *~*~* means a switch from present time to the time in the book and vice versa; ~~~~~ means a switch between different scenes; and ***** means a switch from past to present in the book. The italics are mostly when someone's thoughts.

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Realization of Fate

Home Sweet Home

It was in the middle of June. The airport was filled with tourists and locals who were either going in or out of town. In the midst of the crowd stood a young female in her late twenties or early thirties who was turning her head left and right as though searching for someone. She spotted what she was looking for and headed towards them. A young man greeted her about who was about her age and a little child who instantly clung to her.

"Hey sweetie," the woman said to the child. "Are you ready to go?"

The child nodded. She looked up to the man and gave him a knowing smile.

"So, what time is the flight?" she asked.

"Well, it doesn't look good. It seems that we'll be delayed for another hour or two."

"That bad, huh?"

The man shrugged.

"So what are we going to do now?" she asked.

"The best we could do is stay here in the airport."

"What about her?" she pointed to the child. "She'll be bored in here."

"I'll think of something to occupy her," the man said. "Why don't you stay here? If something comes up, then you have my beeper number."

"That's a good idea."

"Do you have anything to do for the mean time?"

"I'll think of something," she said as she gave him a kiss. "And you, you better be good, ok?"

"Ok," the girl nodded and instantly dragged the man with her.

The woman laughed at the sight and sat down on one of the chairs. With nothing else to do but wait, she searched through her luggage and found a book. An old book. Well, it wasn't that old. It looked old by the constant turning of the pages. It was just released about a year ago. She had to admit that the title was a little bit out there, but it became an instant bestseller. 

She looked at the book for what seemed like a minute, memories of every detail from it coming back to her. She knew the book from cover to cover, like the back of her own hand. Despite that, she still read it once in a while for fun. Figuring out that this was a good time as any, she flipped the book open to the first chapter and started reading.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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My life has always seemed like one big roller coaster ride: full of its ups and downs, surprises and fears. Trying to run away from the pain, I always left things undone, believing that they sort out by themselves. What I didn't know was that even I couldn't run away from my own destiny…

"Can you believe it?" Caitie Waite said in excitement. "She's finally coming to visit us."

"You mean _they are_," said her husband, Jamie. "And I thought you were mad at her for leaving without telling you and not visiting since God knows when."

"Don't start with me!" 

Jamie playfully raised both of his hands up in the air as if to say he surrendered.

"You checked the flight schedule, right?" Caitie asked. "They are arriving at this time, right?"

"I actually forgot to tell you that they arrived yesterday," he said sarcastically, earning him a fuming glare.

"I love you."

Caitie smiled at him and turned towards the gate as she waited for two familiar people to emerge from it.

"Oh my God," Caitie said. "They're here."

A blond woman about Caitie's age came into view with a little girl of about four who was holding a teddy bear. She looked like she had just awakened from a nice sleep. The blond woman looked around and spotted Caitie, an immediate smile appearing on her face. She approached them with the little girl in tow.

"Hey Caitie!" the woman said as she gave her a hug. "I've missed you so much."

"Welcome home, Val," Caitie said to her best friend since high school. "I can't believe you're finally here."

"Me neither," she said before breaking the embrace and turning to Jamie. "Did you miss me?"

"We all did," Jamie said as she gave her a hug of his own.

"How's my favorite niece?" Caitie said to the little girl who was the exact replica of her mother.

"I'm fine, thank you," the little girl said.

"Have we met before?" Jamie said jokingly to the little girl. "What's you name?"

"Alyssa, on your orders," she said while getting her skirt and bending her knees like a real lady.

"I don't know where she learned that," Val smiled.

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Five years ago, something happened that changed my life forever. Who would have thought that the maid of honor of a wedding who was single and unattached, would have a child before the bride herself?

********************

"Do you Caitie Roth take Jamie Waite to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

"And do you Jamie Waite take Caitie Roth to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.

Jamie gave Caitie a kiss as the two walked down the aisle. Val only looked on, a twinge of jealousy creeping inside her. She wished that she were Caitie. She wanted to have a family. And yet she was single. Although it was supposedly a happy occasion, she couldn't help but feel down.

********************

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It must have been from depression or self-pity that I decided to get a few shots of liquor. I didn't expect things to get really out of hand, but they did. 

********************

Tyler Connell, who was one of the best men along with Hank Beecham, came over to Val. She was sitting at the bar.

"Are you ok?" he asked. "Something seems to be bothering you."

"I'm fine."

"How many shots have you drank?"

"I don't know. It's hard to keep count after five."

"Five!"

"Shhh," said Val. "Don't tell anyone. You see, I'm sad, and that's why I'm getting drunk."

"Val, you shouldn't…"

"Here, have some," she told him as she handed him a drink. "I can trust you, can I?"

"Sure," Tyler said. "But only because I'm bummed as well."

Tyler took another shot, and another, and another. A few moments later, Val decided to get back to the hotel.

"Can you come with me?" she asked. "I can't seem to walk."

"Sure," Tyler said as she offered her his arm, even though he was equally drunk.

The two individuals walked up the stairs to Val's hotel room, surprisingly able to stand up despite their condition. Without thinking, they both went in and locked the door shut.

********************

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I ended up getting drunk. And if that wasn't bad enough, I ended up sleeping with my ex-boyfriend from back in the days. He was the only man I ever loved in my whole entire life. I got pregnant and decided to run away from everything. I left everything behind to restart my life…in England. But as the wise men say, "A good son always comes back home."

"So where are you taking me?" Val asked the Waites.

"You haven't seen our house, have you?" asked Jamie.

"Not really," she replied. "Only in pictures."

"Well, we're heading there," said Jamie.

"Where are your twins anyway?" asked Val.

"Kyle and Chrissy are at home with Hank," replied Caitie. "You know about Hank, right?"

"Of course," Val said. "He told me about what happened to Melanie. He was really devastated when he came to visit us. We talked for a few hours. He seems to be doing great with their son. What's his name again?"

"Malcolm."

"Mommy?" asked Alyssa. "Is Daddy here?"

"Certainly, honey. Everyone is."

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When I lived in Kingsport, we used to be a group of six. It was always Caitie, Jamie, Tyler, Hank, my sister Brooke, and I. Most of us worked at the local EMS station, which stands for Emergency Medical Services. We used to hangout at local diners, the park, or at school. Some people could say that our lives were pathetic, but they were the best days of my life. We were good friends, we got along pretty well, we cared for each other, and we didn't worry about many things. We were happy.

"Come on, Chrissy," said Hank. "Stop crying. I'll give you a dollar."

Caitie, Jamie, Val, and Alyssa came in the house at just about the same time.

"Hank!" Caitie said with a look that's asking him what he was doing.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Don't you think my daughter's too smart for that?" asked Jamie.

"What do you mean?" asked Hank.

"Give her five bucks!" said Jamie.

Caitie elbowed him playfully.

"I was just kidding," laughed Jamie.

"And who's this little girl?" asked Hank as he knelt on one knee.

"Uncle Hank!" Alyssa cried as she gave Hank a hug.

"How old are you now?" he asked.

"This much," she said as she held up four fingers. "How about you?"

"I'm afraid that I don't have enough fingers for that, Alyssa."

"Grownups are no fun," she said. "That's what mommy tells me all the time."

Hank laughed.

"When you're past ten, you'll see what I mean."

Val came over to Hank and gave him a hug.

"How are you, Valerie?"

"I'm great, Hank. You?"

"I'm doing better. You haven't met my son, have you?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Malcolm!" he called out. "Come here and meet your aunt Val."

Malcolm came running to his dad and headed towards Val.

"You must be Malcolm," Val said as she shook the boy's hand. "How old are you?"

"I'm five and a half," said Malcolm.

"It's nice to meet you," Val said.

"I'll take Alyssa to play with the kids," said Hank. "Come on, Alyssa. I'd like you to meet your cousins."

Val smiled. Even though they weren't related at all, the treated each other like family. Val went into the family room and started telling them what happened. Several minutes have passed after Val told them the whole story of why she came back.

"Does he know?" asked Caitie.

"Not yet," Val said. "I'll tell him when the time comes."

"Well, you can always stay here in our place," said Caitie.

"Thanks, but I think we'll just stay at the hotel."

"Just remember, Val, that you're always welcome here," reminded Jamie.

"I know. I know."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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I had to end it right here : ( Sorry, but I wanted to spread the story out so that it will have more chapters. This is a book after all. I hope you liked it. Other characters will be introduced later on. I'll be back in two weeks! ~ Scarlet182


	2. The Much Anticipated Reunion

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic, except the ones that you don't recognize. Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth own them all. 

Note: *~*~* means a switch from present time to the time in the book and vice versa; ~~~~~ means a switch between different scenes; and ***** means a switch from past to present in the book or flashbacks. The italics are mostly when someone's thoughts.

**__**

Realization of Fate

The Much Anticipated Reunion

Kingsport. Despite the few changes on the landscapes and the abundance of newly built houses, it was still the same place as she had last remembered. It was still her home. Surprisingly, all of her close friends, as well as her family, remained in this peaceful little town. Of course, they all went on their separate paths during their college years, but they all came back. It was only her that went away. Farther than she had ever imagined herself go. 

It might have been a rational decision then, for she hoped the great gap the Atlantic Ocean would serve would isolate her from the problems she purposely left. She now realized that she was mistaken. It took her five long years to realize that the past can catch up to you in the long run. And now she was back again to Kingsport. The place that started everything.

Val looked around Caitie and Jamie's house. The Waites. She liked calling them that. Jamie was a year younger than Caitie. Their lasting romance started on Caitie's senior year. After Caitie graduated, she never thought that they would get through all the obstacles and stay together. The biggest surprise was when the two got married. And now here they are in a nice cozy house with their two little kids, looking as happy as they had been almost ten years ago.

"Val?" Jamie asked as he entered a room where Val was standing. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just looking around. You have a really nice place. Is this your office?"

"Nope. It's my dear wife's."

"Caitie's a lawyer, right?" 

"The toughest in the business," Jamie smiled. "And as you know, she's also a writer or author. Whatever you want to call it."

"I remember. I love her novels. I have copies of them at home…in England. Well, how about you, Jamie? What do you do?"

"I do what I do best," he said proudly.

"You race?"

"Well, I'm good at that, too, but I'm actually a doctor. An emergency medical physician and proud member of the ACEP organization."

"That's great. Congratulations. No wonder you two have such a nice house. I'm just a pediatrician."

"That makes two of you. Hank is one as well."

"And that makes two lawyers: Caitie and Tyler."

"If you think we have a nice house, you should take a look at Tyler's. That guy has a mansion. And I'm not exaggerating. Of course, he owns his own firm. Caitie works at his firm. Did she tell you that?"

"No, but at least they're getting along," Val smiled. "Wait, Brooke has the same job as you."

"So I heard. She's actually taking over Alex's job at the station. I think she'll make a good Alex."

"Definitely."

Val and Jamie headed to the living room where the kids are. Suddenly the front door opened and steady footsteps entered the house.

"I'm here," the individual called out.

Instantly, the three kids, sans the newcomer, ran and headed for the door to meet the visitor. Alyssa was left sitting on the floor, still surprised and equally confused as Val to what had just happened.

"Uncle Tyler! /What took you so long? /Let's play football!" yelled Malcolm, Chrissy, and Kyle, respectively.

Tyler kneeled down on one knee as the three kids threw themselves at him. His briefcase fell forgotten to the floor.

"Hey munchkins!" Tyler greeted as he gave each one of them a kiss as they greeted him in return. "Hey guys!"

Caitie waved at him as she emerged from the kitchen. Hank also greeted him as he came from upstairs. The kids still clung to him. Tyler loved his nephews and niece, even though they're not really his nephews and niece. The kids loved him equally the same. Val stood from afar as she watched the displays of affection shown between the kids and the lone adult in a suit.

"The kids love him," Jamie whispered from behind. "I don't know why but he's like their big playmate."

Val nodded and looked at Alyssa, who was still playing with the toys.

"I'll go get her," Jamie offered as she approached Alyssa.

Meanwhile, Tyler's attention was still focused on the other children.

"I'm sorry I was late, kids. I was busy at work. We'll play football later, okay? Why don't you go back and play."

The three all nodded and smiled in glee. Tyler watched the three run to the living room and smiled to himself. As he was about to pick up his briefcase, the image of a blond little girl came to his view.

"Daddy!" she cried happily as she saw and ran towards Tyler.

"Oh my God…Alyssa," he muttered softly as he engulfed her in a tight embrace. "How are you, sweetie?"

Val looked at the two and almost came into tears at the sight. It might have been because of the happiness she felt, or maybe because Tyler's eyes were starting to water and his voice cracked.

"Good, the guy in the plane let me see the pilot's room!"

"Really? That's great!" Tyler said as he looked at his daughter once again. "I miss you so much, you know that?"

"Daddy, you're hurting me," Alyssa said in referral to Tyler's tight hug.

"I'm sorry, it's just…I mean, I can't believe you're here. What are you doing here?"

"I miss you too, Daddy," Alyssa said before embracing Tyler once again and putting her head on his shoulders.

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Tyler, my ex-boyfriend, was a really dedicated father. Even though we didn't live in Kingsport anymore, he was always in England to see her. Of course, it was an easy task for him. His law firm, Connell Law, which he inherited from his late father, had a division in England. He was very sweet and understanding, but my biggest fear by then was to fall in love with him again.

Tyler stood up with Alyssa still in his arms. It was then that he saw Val. It was only a few weeks ago that he last saw her and Alyssa. And now here she was, standing right in front of him with a smile on her face.

"Hey!" Val greeted. 

"Thank you," Tyler said as he hugged Val, who was thoroughly caught off guard. "I missed this little angel."

"You're welcome."

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

"Didn't you like the surprise?"

"I did, but you should have told me still. Well, it's great to see you again." 

"Same here. I never knew you were so popular with the kids."

Tyler laughed.

"Where's Seth?"

"Seth…well…Seth stayed in England. We're staying her for a while."

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When I moved in England, I met this stockbroker/psychiatrist, Seth. He was a very sweet guy, and he respected me. We were very lonely, and after a short while, we decided to get married. Just after a while we started seeing that love was in fact the most important factor to make a marriage work.

"So where are you two staying then?"

"We're staying at a nearby hotel downtown."

"Whoa…I get to see my daughter for this long in Kingsport for the first time and you're staying in a hotel?" asked Tyler. "I don't think so."

"I want to stay with Daddy," exclaimed Alyssa. 

Val kept looking at both of them, who are looking at her with puppy eyes, still holding each other.

"Okay," Val said after finally giving up. "You win."

"Daddy? What's your age?"

Tyler first held up two fingers on his one hand, and then raised eight fingers using both his hands.

"That's twenty-eight."

"That's right."

"Is that more than ten?" she asked curiously.

"It's way more than ten, honey."

"But Uncle Hank said that you can't say your age with your fingers if you're age is more than ten."

"That's because Uncle Hank is no fun," Tyler joked.

Alyssa laughed as Tyler put her down. She quickly ran back to play.

"That wasn't very nice," Val kidded.

"Well, now that this little reunion is over, let's eat," Jamie said as they lead the two to the dining table.

The door opened once again. Val headed towards the door to see the new visitor. The kids, Alyssa now included, ran to the door and greeted the visitor. Val laughed at the sight. She was glad her daughter was getting along with the other kids. 

The visitor was none other than Brooke Lanier, who was four years Val's junior. Brooke greeted the kids in a much calmer manner than Tyler, but like him, the new face also surprised her.

"Aly!" she cried as she lifted her niece, her real niece, to her arms. "I missed you."

"Aunt Brooke!" she cried. "The guy in the plane let me see the pilot's room."

"It's called 'cabin,' dear," Brooke told her. 

"That's what Mommy said, but I like 'room' best."

"It's better, sweetie," Brooke corrected her once again.

"Brooke! Lay off the kid," said Val with a laugh. "She's only four."

"Hey sis!" she greeted as she hugged the person she hadn't seen for over six months. "You look great."

"Same to you. Come on. We're just starting dinner."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This is really good," exclaimed Val as she took a bite off of the food she had never encountered before. "What is this called?"

"Bœuf à la Gardiane," Jamie said with pride in a French accent. "A Waite family classic dish. It's basically a beef and wine stew, with the obvious black olives."

"You cooked this?" Val asked. "You never strike me as the cooking type."

"Me neither," Caitie called out, who was attending to the children.

"I have my secrets," Jamie flashed them a smile.

"So, do you guys eat here all the time?" inquired Val.

"Well, only on Fridays," Brooke started to explain. "On Saturdays, we eat at Hank's place. On alternating Saturdays, it's either Hank or I cook, but it's still in his place because my apartment is not that big."

"What about Sunday?"

"You dine at Chez Connell," said Tyler in a true chef fashion.

"You cook as well?"

"How come you're surprised about Jamie and I cooking, and not Hank or Brooke?" complained Tyler, but smiled to hint he was just playing around.

"Well, I know Brooke can cook, and Hank is good at everything, right Hank?"

"Damn straight!" Hank replied.

Everyone at the table laugh until Caitie came over.

"As much as I hate to ruin the fun, I prefer you not to use any cuss words when children are around, Dr. Beecham," Caitie said in a prim tone. "You should know better. Shame on you."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, my darling wife," Jamie stood up and pointed to Caitie as he got a bunch of claps from the rest of the gang who decided to play along.

The night went on with laughs and jokes as the group reminisced on the old days as well as the present. 

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It was probably the best dinner of my life. The best night to simply put it. It felt great to be back again with such great company. For a moment, all the worries and problems in my head disappeared. Nothing seemed to exist. It was just my best friends, our children, and I. For the first time in months, maybe in years in fact, I could finally say that I was content. 

The dinner was finally over and all the games were played. After everything was said and done, they all said their good byes as another gathering came to an end. 

"Bye Hank!" called out Val. "Bye Malcolm! It was nice meeting you. See you tomorrow."

Hank held Malcolm's hand as they waved goodbye and went in Hank's car. In a jiffy, the car left the driveway. Brooke left next after saying goodbye to the kids and everyone. Jamie helped Tyler in putting Alyssa and Val's luggage into Tyler's car.

"Thanks Jamie," Val said as she gave him one last hug. "And take care of Caitie and the kids."

"Of course," Jamie said. 

"Is she coming out?"

"She's putting the kids to bed right now. It's a hard task."

"I can only imagine. Bye Jamie. See you tomorrow."

"See ya!" Jamie said as Val got in the car.

"Until next time, Jamie," said Tyler.

"Bye man. Take care."

After everyone left, Jamie returned inside his house.

"Jamie!" yelled Caitie. "Can you help me out here?"

"Coming!" he said as he ran up the stairs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As they parked on Tyler's driveway, Val could only stare at the enormous sight in front of her.

"Wow…Jamie wasn't kidding."

"Kidding? About what?"

"About your house being big."

Tyler smiled and woke Alyssa up.

"Alyssa, we're home."

Alyssa woke up and blink three times before everything came into focus. 

"You live in a castle?" she asked Tyler.

"Sure," he said. "Do you want to be my princess?"

"Can I, Mommy?" she looked at Val with pleading eyes.

"Certainly."

The three got out of the car after Tyler parked his auto in the garage, which donned six more vehicles.

"You're garage is a lot bigger than Seth's room and I," Val said in amazement. "And you live here all by yourself."

"Technically, no," replied Tyler. "I have people come once in a while to help me clean and all."

"But still, they don't leave here. So that makes you alone."

"Well, not really," Tyler said once again as they approached. "Aly, would you like to meet somebody?"

"Who?" 

"Well, she's very special to me as well."

"Oh, it's a girl," Val said but mentally slapped herself for sounding a bit jealous. _'So she lives with him. He did mention he was dating somebody. But still…Still what? You're married…well, at least you're still married, but then…Then what? I need help.'_

Tyler looked at her weirdly.

"Are you all right, Val? You just zoned out a while ago."

"I'm fun, I mean, I'm fine. I'm fine."

"Okay, so we can come in now."

"Where…oh right…let's go."

As they entered the house, well, the outside portion of it does not compare to what was inside. It was just like a mansion like Jamie mentioned. A house fit for a king. Out of the blue, Tyler whistled some kind of tune.

"What was that?" asked Val.

"Ladies, I'd like you to meet Jessica."

In a flash, Val heard a barking from a distance. _'OK, that doesn't sound like a girl…or does it?'_

"You have a dog!" cried Alyssa as a golden retriever appeared and headed towards Tyler.

Val couldn't help but recall the sight of Tyler with the kids at the Waites' house.

"This is Jessica or Jessie. My dog."

Alyssa kept giggling as the dog instantly played with her.

"You didn't tell me you had a dog," Val said.

"Well, you didn't tell me you were coming either," countered Tyler, but smiled all the same. "Don't worry. She won't bite. See, the two of them are getting along."

Val looked at her daughter and a smile came to her face as well. She went over the dog and patted its head. To her surprise, the dog didn't seem to flinch.

"She never went near or was this kind to strangers this quickly before," Tyler said. "Not even to me."

"Maybe she likes us better," Val said as she looked at the dog. "She's cute."

"She's only two years old."

"Really? Where does she sleep? Outside?"

"She has her own room."

"Really? Oh, that reminds me, where are we sleeping? How many rooms do you have anyway?"

"There are plenty of rooms around, but I never counted," Tyler smiled. "Pick one. In the meantime, I'll get your luggage."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Val just picked the closest room she could find. Tyler and Alyssa went upstairs later on as Tyler carried the last batch of the luggage.

"Okay, now you go brush your teeth and let's go to bed, Missy. Mommy has to rest over here."

"Can I sleep with Daddy tonight?"

"Ah, but then who's going to sleep with me?" she said while jokingly hugging her.

"We all sleep together! Everyone!"

Tyler and Val exchanged looks and laughed.

"All right, you can sleep with him. Now go brush your teeth, okay? I'll be right there to help you."

"Oh, it's okay. If she uses my bathroom, there's a little stool I use whenever the kids are around."

Tyler took Alyssa in his arms and led her to his bathroom. A few minutes later, he came out and talked to Val.

"So, how long are you two going to stay over? I want to enjoy this little girl as much as I can."

"Oh, don't worry. We won't bother you here for much longer."

"What?!?"

"No, I mean, here in your house."

"You're not bothering me. I told you already. You can stay for as long as you're staying over in Kingsport. I need some time with her."

"Yeah, but…Oh God, this is so hard to say." 

"What is it?" he asked worriedly.

"I'm…The thing is…I'm thinking about moving back in here."

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Well, that took me long enough. I'm really thankful to all of those who reviewed the first chapter. I'm glad you liked it. There will be more. This one was a bit longer than the other was, but I hope you like this as well. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182.


	3. The Object of My Affection

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic, except the ones that you don't recognize. Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth own them all. I'm sorry for the delay of this chapter, but I've been very busy and had some problems with the comp. And just to end the confusion before it starts, this chapter starts out with the present time and not the book.

Note: *~*~* means a switch from present time to the time in the book and vice versa; ~~~~~ means a switch between different scenes; and ***** means a switch from past to present in the book or flashbacks. The italics are mostly when someone's thoughts.

**__**

Realization of Fate

The Object of My Affection

She looked up from the book she was holding in her hands. The flight attendants had just announced that boarding would commence in a few minutes. Immediately, she paged her husband to meet her at the gate. She closed the book carefully, leaving an equally torn bookmark on the last page she was on, meaning that she will eventually get back to reading it.

"Are they boarding already?" asked her husband as he approached her.

"Not yet," she replied as she took her daughter. "Where have you guys been?"

"I wanted to buy stuff, but Daddy said they're not for sale."

She looked at her husband who just shrugged and picked up their carry-on luggage. The attendants had just announced that all first-class and business-class passengers are welcome to board at this time.

"Let's go," he said as they headed to the jetway. "We don't want to miss the flight."

"We're only a few steps away from the gate," informed his wife. "How late can we get?"

"We'll never know. We can't always tell the future."

She followed him along with the little girl as she contemplated his last words. He couldn't have been more right. Once again, her thought went back to the book. His last words were also very true regarding the book. Any why wouldn't it? It is titled 'Realization of Fate.'

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A few minutes had passed after they had safely boarded the plane. Except for a slightly cold temperature than usual, everything about the weather was fine. The plane was on the runway and just about ready to take off.

"Is this gonna hurt?" ask her daughter.

"You've been on planes before."

"I don't remember."

"It doesn't hurt a bit."

"Eat this gum," said her dad.

"What for?"

"Because I said so," he kidded, but she didn't get the joke.

He turned to his wife who was looking outside the window.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

He just nodded as he settled himself on his seat. The plane took off without any problems. They had six more hours before they arrive. Since it was nighttime, the time being eleven o'clock, the stewardesses didn't serve any food. It was a great time to sleep. Twenty minutes into the flight, her husband and daughter already fell asleep. She wasn't sleepy, so she got her bag and took out the book. Once again, she started reading.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

For the first since they were talking, Tyler was speechless. What she said was like a dream. A dream he had hoped to come true for a long time. The only thing was that it was real, and she was standing right in front of him.

"Tyler? Please say something."

"Uh…I…something?"

"Come on, Tyler," she hit him playfully. "I'm serious."

"I know. I just don't know what to say. I mean, are you serious?"

"I just said that a while ago."

"That's really great. I'm really excited, but what about Seth?"

"Oh, Seth…" she said followed by a long pause. "We're separated for now. We decided to take a break for a while."

"I'm sorry. I don't know…"

"And we're considering about getting a divorce."

"Wow…What happened?" he asked. _'This is a surprise.'_

"Well, I guess that sooner or later you'll have to know about this. I mean, I already told everyone except Brooke."

"You told everyone that you're moving back in here before me?"

"I didn't tell them that yet."

"Then what did you tell them?"

"I'm pregnant."

"Whoa…Flashback!"

"Don't worry," Val smiled at him. "It's not yours this time."

"Okay, that was close," he smiled back. "But how can that be a problem between you and Seth? I thought you loved each other."

"And I didn't see him run after me, did I?"

"Okay, go on."

"That's besides the point. The point is that I just don't see him as a father. Alyssa is not that bad because she has your attention as well as mine. I just don't think it work with two kids, you know."

"I understand."

Rachel sat down on her bed and sadly touched her stomach. 

"How many months?" he asked curiously. "If you don't mind."

"Almost two months."

"I was going to say that you gained weight, but luckily I kept my mouth shut."

Val smiled at him once again before the sad look on her face returned. Tyler moved next to her and took both of her hands in his.

"Don't worry, Val. We'll help you out."

"I know. That's the reason I came back."

Alyssa came out of nowhere and poked her head in the room.

"Where's my _pyjama_?"

"It's in that small luggage," she said as she started to get up.

"Hey, just stay there and rest. I'll get it for her."

Before she could protest, Tyler went out the door and closed it. Val smiled and started a countdown.

"5…4…3…2…1…"

"Can I have the keys to the lock?"

"I knew you'd come back," Val said as she handed him the key.

"Thanks. Good night, Val."

"Good night, Tyler."

Alyssa came in and gave her a hug.

"Good night, Mommy."

"Good night, sweetheart. Have fun with Dad."

"I will," she smiled. "Bye."

"Bye," she laughed as Alyssa tried with all her strength to close the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Val and Alyssa stayed at Tyler's house while Tyler went off to work. They settled their things in their rooms until they could get an apartment. Val still needed to look for job. Even though she and Seth had decided to take a break, she had a feeling that she'd be staying in Kingsport for quite some time. To her surprise, Tyler had a playroom in his house. She occupied Alyssa there.

__

It felt funny to be staying with him, and yet it felt nice. He is Tyler after all. What is it about him? He was really being totally nice and cool about this whole scenario. I figured he really missed Alyssa. A part of me screams that he missed me as well. Is there more to that? I knew this wasn't a good idea from the start. The best solution was to stay far away from him as possible. Wait a minute…I've been there, and I've done that. 

Val walked around the house and counted the rooms as she went along. It certainly entertained her. Tyler didn't seem to be the kind of guy who lavishes himself with such luxury, but people change in time. From the looks of it, he could have his own hotel.

"18…19…20," she finished counting. "Twenty rooms? And he only uses one. Well, he never seizes to amaze me."

And as if she conjured him up in her thoughts, Tyler arrived at the house.

"What are you doing here?"

"I live here."

"I know that, but you said you were coming home later."

"Did I interrupt anything?"

"I was only counting how many bed rooms you have, and for your information, you have twenty."

"Twenty? I must have been drunk when I asked them to build me this house."

"So what brings you here so early?"

"You know that we're going to Hank's place tonight. I was wondering if you'd like to see my office, and I won't take no for an answer."

"Do I have any other choice?"

"I don't think so," he laughed, "Where's Aly?"

"She's in the playroom."

Tyler quickly went to the playroom and told Alyssa his plan. After Val and Alyssa changed their outfit, the three left in Tyler's car.

"Do you drive all your cars?" asked Val. "You have a lot."

"On different occasions," he replied while keeping his eyes on the road. "You're free to use one if you want."

"I don't have a license, remember?"

"I remember. It just slipped my mind, that's all."

"Sure it did."

After thirty minutes, they arrived at Tyler's building, which had 'Connell Law' in front of it.

"Daddy, why does it have my name on it?" Alyssa asked as Tyler parked the car in the garage of the building.

"Because Daddy owns it."

"Can I have it?"

"Someday Aly, this will be yours."

"Can I have it now?"

"Why do you want it so much?"

"I don't know, but it has my name on it."

Tyler gave up after failing to come up with a comeback. They went on an elevator and went to the highest floor where Tyler's office resided. As they entered the floor, they encountered a few people before they reached his office. Before Tyler could open the door, someone from behind called his attention.

"Is that you, Connell?"

"Hey Robbie," Tyler said as he turned around. "Val, this is my right hand, Robert O'Brien. Robbie, this is a close friend of mine, Valerie Lanier."

"It's nice to meet you," Val said as she extended her hand. "You can call me Val."

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well," he replied as he took her hand. "You can call me Robbie."

"And this is my daughter, Alyssa," Tyler introduced her to him. 

"It's nice to finally meet the famous Alyssa," Robbie said as he approached the girl who was clinging on one of her dad's legs. "You're dad talks about you all the time. You should see his office."

Alyssa, who was usually shy at meeting new people, didn't say anything.

"What's in his office?" asked Val.

"You'll just have to find out for yourself," Robbie replied. "I have to run, Connell. I'm meeting someone."

"Is it someone I know?"

"Um…sure."

"Are you hiding anything?" Tyler looked at him suspiciously.

"Of course not," said Robbie. "Why would you think that?"

"Because you've been tapping you're right foot on the floor, and it's getting pretty annoying."

Robbie stopped abruptly and looked back at Tyler.

"I got to run, Connell. I'll see you on Monday."

"Have fun on whatever you're doing. Take care."

"I will. Bye guys. It was good to see you all."

"Bye," Val said as Robbie left. "What was that all about?"

"What?" asked Tyler as he proceeded to open his office.

"Do you think he's hiding something?"

"Well, I have my advisors, and they've reported some suspicious things. I don't know. I trust the guy. I've known him since college. He's like a brother to me. He has helped me through a lot of things. Who can you trust if you can't trust your right hand?"

"Your left?" Val said in an attempt to make a joke.

"That's cute," Tyler laughed as he opened the door.

Val looked around and could only smile. His office was certainly big, but what was inside was the one that made her smile.

"Well, Alyssa sure is famous around here."

The room was filled with pictures of Alyssa, Alyssa and Tyler and a few pictures of Alyssa with Val and the three of them altogether. The other pictures were of Tyler and some other people.

"Hey Daddy! That's me. And that's me. And I'm over there and there and there and there."

"I know," Tyler said as he scooped her up in his arms. "Do you know why you're everywhere?"

"Because I'm famous?"

"Well, that too, but it's because Daddy misses you a lot."

"I miss you a lot too, Daddy," she said as she gave him a hug. "I have some pictures of you too."

__

Tyler was truly a terrific father. I wish Seth were the same. At times whenever he visited us England, I wish I were married to Tyler Connell instead of Seth Cummings. It's wishful thinking, considering that he has his own life now, and I had mine. I looked at the situation as wanting Seth to be like him rather than wanting to be with him. Our situation is definitely complex, but I love Seth. I do love him, don't I? I sounded more convincing before I came here. Who am I kidding? He didn't run after me, which only means that he doesn't love me? What do I know? I don't know how the British mind works.

"Are you two ready to go?" asked Val as Tyler and Alyssa continued to look at the pictures.

"Sure," Tyler said as he put down Alyssa. "We'll be late for Hank's if we don't hurry."

"Come on, honey," Val said as she took Alyssa's hand. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They arrived at Hank's house in a jiffy. Val thought it was a nice house. It wasn't as big as Jamie and Caitie's, and it sure was not as big as Tyler's, but it was good enough to fit all of them. From what Hank told her, he sold their first house after Melanie passed away. It was a tough decision, but he had to move on. He moved back to Kingsport, where the rest of his friends lived. 

"Come on in," Hank said as the three arrived. "Well Val, this is the house."

"It looks great, Hank. Nice curtains."

"Melanie made them a while ago. We were going to use it at the house, but we never got to."

"It's really nice. I like it."

"Well, the rest of the guys are here."

"What's for dinner?"

"Pizza."

"Pizza? Is it Italian? How long did it take you to make?"

"I didn't make it. It was Brooke's turn. She was in a hurry, so she just grabbed some pizza on the way. Is that all right with you?"

"Pizza's fine. If I'm hungry, I'll eat anything. Next time, I'll be expecting something more from you."

"Don't worry. I know my food, and I know how to cook them."

"If you say so, Beecham." 

They all basically dined around the kitchen. The children were eating at the table, while the adults just stood and took pizza from the counter. It was much relaxing than the day before. Val and Brooke already finished eating and sat in the living room while having a private discussion.

"Brooke, I'm thinking about moving back here."

"Really? That's fantastic. Mom and Dad will be so thrilled. Have you called them yet?"

"Not yet, but I have something else to tell you."

"What?"

"I'm pregnant…again."

"Oh my God! It's not Tyler's again, is it?"

"No, Brooke, of course not. Tyler and I haven't don't anything since Caitie and Jamie's wedding."

"Are you sure you didn't get drunk at any bars during the times he visited Alyssa?"

"I'm sure, Brooke, and there's more?"

"What is it now?"

"Seth and I are deciding about getting a divorce."

"Well, that's a lot of change."

"I know…I know. I just don't think he's ready to be a father. I gave him like 2 years to get used to Alyssa, and he didn't. Why would it be different this time?" 

Val turned around and saw Alyssa laughing with Tyler.

"I think that's why she's so attached to Tyler," she continued.

"We're all here for you, Val. Anytime you need anything, you have my number."

"Actually, the last time I called it said that your phone number was disconnected."

"Oh, I totally forgot," Brooke said as she took her shoulder bag and took out a calling card. "I got a new number. Now you can reach me at home, at work, or you can reach me on my cell, pager, or e-mail address."

"Okay," Val looked at her strangely. "So how's Mom and Dad? Did you tell them I'm here."

"I thought you would call them or called them already."

"That's fine. I'd rather tell them anyway."

They both got up as Malcolm, Kyle, Tyler, and Hank went outside the yard.

"Where are they going?" asked Val.

"Football," Jamie shrugged.

"Wait a minute," Val said in an exaggerated tone. "You despised football jocks in high school and maybe even college, and now you're letting your son play football?"

"Both of his uncles are football jocks. What can a man do?"

"And is Chrissy set to be a cheerleader?"

"Oh no, thank goodness," Jamie said. "No offense, Val."

"None taken," she smiled. "So what is she like?"

"She might dress normally, but don't let that fool you," Jamie said. "She's truly her mother's daughter."

"And she's your daughter too. Don't forget that."

"Yep, she'll be the ultimate rebel when she grows up," joked Jamie. "But let's hope she stays out of trouble."

"She seems like a nice young lady."

"Well, she is a nice little girl, but I have a feeling that when my twins grow up, they'll be as different as Caitie and Tyler was when they were in high school."

"What does Caitie think of the football deal with your son?"

"She doesn't mind. We don't really mind. We've learned to cope with the hardships of parenting."

"Your kids are only three-year olds," Brooke told him.

"Oh yea, I better save that one when they're older," Jamie laughed as he joined the guys outside.

"Jamie's still Jamie," Val said.

"Tell me about," added Brooke as a laugh followed.

Hank came in and came over to them.

"Val, Tyler told us that you're moving back here."

"I'm leaning towards the idea, but I most likely will."

"If you need any help with finding a job, there's an opening in my department. I was wondering if you're interested since you're in pediatrics as well."

"Thanks Hank. I'll think about. You're the best."

"I know," he said before returning outside.

"Well, it looks like everything is finally working out for me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Val laid down on her bed as soon as she finished getting dressed. Alyssa was already asleep, and she figured Tyler was sleeping already as well. She noticed that she had a phone in her room, but she felt like she had to ask him to use it, as if it wasn't her privilege to use it. Getting up, she went outside to look for him.

"Tyler?" she called out as she entered his room, but all she found was Alyssa fast asleep. She closed the door quietly and headed down the stairs. "Are you down there?"

She heard no reply but instead heard a muffled conversation. She realized it was from his office. She knew that she would be eavesdropping, unless no one finds out. Slowly and quietly, she crept to the door and listened in.

"What do you mean I can't do it? I own the freaking company for God's sake! …I can take a leave whenever I want…What about Mr. Steinberg? …I'll only be away for a few days. It's the first time my daughter has visited me…I don't care if Walter Steinberg is the president of some dumb company. Heck, I don't care if he's the president of our country…So what if he's one of our biggest clients? …He's paying a lot? I don't give a damn if he's paying me a gazillion billion dollars, Robbie! …Did you even call Mr. Steinberg yet? …Why didn't you? He'll understand. I'm sure of it…What do you mean he won't? …I'm your boss, and I'm telling you right now, do not contradict me, Robbie."

Val backed away a little bit. She has never seen or heard Tyler yell like this. There was a short pause before the conversation resumed.

"You're asking me to choose between spending some quality time with my daughter or going to a meeting with Mr. Steinberg for a million-dollar case? I don't believe this! …You know what? Take the case if you want. If you want the money so much, take it…It's for the good of the company? …I own the company, and I know what I'm doing…I'm sure he would've understood if you had called him. I might sound conceited here, but I'm the best lawyer in this business. I can make anyone's life a living hell, and if they want me to take their case, they'd wait…Fine! Take the case! But I'm telling you right now, never let me choose between my daughter and my job."

Val jumped up when she heard Tyler slam the phone down. _'Well, I guess he does have a temper.'_ Val walked away slowly but found out that she was too late when the door opened.

"How long have you been here?" he asked with a hint of irritation still in his tone.

"Long enough," Val said with guilt. "Business problems?"

"You could say that," Tyler sighed. "Did you want anything?"

"I was looking for you to ask if I could use the phone."

"Sure. You have one in your room."

"I know. I was just wondering if I could use it."

"As long as you're staying, you're welcome to use anything."

"Thanks Tyler," Val said as she headed upstairs. "Tyler?"

Tyler turned around and looked up at her.

"You sure aren't like you father."

Tyler smiled.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"Don't stay up too late. Tomorrow's a big day."

Tyler looked up abruptly at her as though she just figured out his secret.

"How did you know?"

"You're cooking tomorrow, aren't you?"

"Oh that," Tyler sighed with relief. "Sure, I'm cooking tomorrow."

"Why? Is there something else I don't know about regarding tomorrow."

"We'll see," he smiled and returned to his office.

Val continued her climbed up the stairs, but now her mind was wondering on what Tyler seems to be hiding. When she reached her room, she picked up the phone and called her parents' house.

"Hello?" spoke tired voice. "This is the Laniers."

Val looked at the clock and just realized that it was already eleven o'clock.

"I'm sorry. I should have called earlier."

"Val? Is that you?"

"Yes, Mom. It's me…in Kingsport."

"You're came back here, and you didn't tell us?"

"I'm sorry. I'm staying at Tyler's for a while."

"Is Seth all right with that?"

"He didn't come."

"Is something the matter?"

"It's a long story, Mom."

"I have time. You just woke me up."

"Okay, so here's what happened…"

Val told her mom everything from the relationship issues to the pregnancy to the plan of moving to Kingsport.

"I don't know what to say," her mom said. "Well, whatever you do, your dad and I will be behind you one hundred percent."

"Thanks Mom. It was nice to talk to you again. I hope I'll see you soon. Tell Dad I said hi and that Alyssa and I love him. And we love you too, Mom."

"We love you too, honey."

"I better go to sleep. Tomorrow's a big day."

"I see. Come visit soon."

"We will. Bye Mom."

"Bye sweetheart."

Val put the phone down, and once again she laid down on her bed.

"What is so big about tomorrow?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The next day seemed to come by slowly. Brooke, Caitie, and Jamie were already at Tyler's house. Tyler left for church and took Alyssa with him. Val decided to stay in the house and just enjoy Brooke, Jamie, and Caitie's company. After Tyler and Alyssa arrived, they continued to talk as the kids played. Hank arrived moments later with Malcolm. 

"Now that you're here, I better start cooking dinner," Tyler said. "I'll be in the kitchen in case somebody wants me."

"Don't count on it!" Jamie said as Tyler left.

"Is anyone else coming?" Caitie asked. "It seemed like he was expecting someone."

"I don't think Robbie is coming," Val said. "They had a little argument last night."

"Maybe Andrea is coming," said Jamie.

"Who's that?" asked Val.

"He didn't tell you?" asked Hank.

"Wait…Is this the Andrea he's been mentioning now and then?

"So he did tell you about her," Caitie said. "Andrea Burbank."

"He mentioned her when he visited. They've been going strong for about a year now or something."

"A little bit over a year," said Hank. "Have you seen her?"

"She's only on every other cover of fashion magazines," Caitie said. 

"Yep, that's Tyler's supermodel girlfriend," said Jamie.

Suddenly, they heard a screeching noise outside, followed by light footsteps and a knock on the door.

"Speaking of the devil," Hank said as he opened the door and faked a smile. "Hello Andrea."

"Hey Hank!" she said as she gave him a light peck on the cheek. "Hey guys!"

They all waved, except for Val, whom Andrea eyed curiously. Val eyed her all the same. She had auburn-colored hair and green eyes. Height-wise, Val was a bit taller than her, but she seemed like every guys' fantasy.

"You look familiar."

"I could say the same about you," she said as she stood up to greet her. "I'm Val Lanier --- one of Tyler's friends."

"I remember now. So if you're here, then I believe your daughter is here as well."

"She's in the playroom. I guess Tyler talks about her all the time."

"It gets pretty annoying after a while. I mean, his office is like filled with pictures of her and only a few of me."

Val just nodded and sat back down to her seat.

"Where's Tyler?" 

"In the kitchen," replied Jamie as Andrea left them.

"I don't like her most of the time," Caitie whispered to Val. "What did you think?"

"No comment."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the clock struck seven, Tyler was already ready to serve the food. Caitie once again stayed with the kids while Brooke offered to help. From just being at the table, it was obvious that the food was going to be good.

"What did you cook?" Jamie asked him as he put the food on the table. "Is this Italian?"

"You guessed right," Tyler said. "They're all Andrea's favorites."

"They look good," Val said. "What is this called?"

"Pomodori Secchi al Tonno," Tyler said in a terrible Italian accent.

"Tonno? That's fish, right?" asked Val.

"You guessed it," replied Andrea. "It's really good."

Val took a bite as Tyler waited for her reaction.

"It's definitely unlike anything that I've tasted before," Val said as Tyler continued to look on. "I meant that in a good way."

"Good, because I have one more."

"What is it this time?" asked Hank.

"Mazoro…a la…Valesana."

"What?" asked Hank.

"Um…wild duck," Tyler translated in English.

"This is good too," Hank told him. "What's for dinner?"

"I believe it would be Tiramisu," Andrea told them. 

"Why do you believe that?" asked Caitie as she approached them.

"Well, Tyler said he's making my favorites."

"I see, well, I better get back to the kids," Caitie said as she returned to Brooke. "Aren't you going to eat?"

"I'm not hungry. Besides, I don't like Italian food, except for pizza."

"Well, yea, but we eat American pizza anyway."

"True."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This Tiramisu is delicious, Tyler," Val said. "I'm sorry for even doubting that you could cook."

"It's all right," he told her. "You're not the first one."

"I was the first one," Jamie said.

They continued to talk and eat and talk and eat until they finished. There was a silence in the room for a while before Tyler stood up to say something.

"I'm so glad that everyone that I love and care about are here," he began. "As I mentioned, I cooked all of this in honor of Andrea. Andrea, we've been going out for more than a year now. Even in the tough business that I'm in, you've found a way to make my life more fun and exciting. I have to say that I am very lucky to have you in life, and I hope that you will be there until death do us part…"

Val looked at him in shock as he started to bend on one knee. _'I don't like where this is going at all.'_

"I guess what I'm trying to say is…Andrea Burbank…will you marry me?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__

So that was chapter 3…the longest one by far. Please review! I hope you liked it. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


	4. More Than a Surprise

__

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic, except the ones that you don't recognize. Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth own them all. I know this took long, but I haven't been in the mood these past couple of days, and it takes me at most a week to get new chapters out because I'm busy at most times. I hope you like this one. 

Note: *~*~* means a switch from present time to the time in the book and vice versa; ~~~~~ means a switch between different scenes; and ***** means a switch from past to present in the book or flashbacks. The italics are mostly when someone's thoughts.

**__**

Realization of Fate

More Than a Surprise

__

'Marry him?' Val's mouth fell open and an image of pure shock was evident on her face. Hank had a similar expression, until Jamie accidentally shot out some red wine that he was drinking a few seconds earlier.

"Thanks a lot, Jamie."

"Sorry."

Tyler shot them a glare as he returned his gaze to Andrea. And although they were at least fifteen yards away from the table, Brooke and Caitie also froze at Tyler's statement.

"He's kidding, right?" whispered Caitie to Brooke.

"I've known Tyler for a long time, and I don't think he's kidding."

Tyler had a hopeful look as he continued to gaze at Andrea. She had been silent for a longer time than he had expected, even though there was no sign of any shock whatsoever on her face.

"It'll be my honor," she finally said with a triumphant smile.

A huge smile emerged from Tyler's lips as he slipped the ribbon-like shaped ring of three diamonds on her finger. He stood up and gave her a kiss, followed by a hug.

"Well, congratulations," Hank finally spat out as he wiped the remaining red wine on his shirt.

"Thanks," Tyler said as he looked at Val as though asking for her approval.

"Congratulations," she forced a smile.

Tyler's smile grew wider and one by one, Jamie, Caitie, and Brooke gave them their best wishes.

"Thank you everyone," Andrea uttered. "I never though this day would come."

"Why?" asked Tyler, whose left arm was still around her. "I love you."

"I know," she said quite frankly. "I have to leave now. Thanks for the proposal. And by the way, I'd like Robert O'Brien to be the best man."

Caitie held the urge to jump and beat the hell out of her, and Brooke felt the same. 

"You know, Andrea can be a totally nice and likeable person at times," whispered Brooke.

"But most of the time she can be a bitch," finished Caitie.

Andrea walked towards the door without any goodbye, or even a goodbye kiss for Tyler, who just moments ago became her fiancé. Tyler ran after her.

"Why don't you stay for the night?"

"With your daughter and her mother? Hmm, let me think. No, thank you."

"Wait. Do you have a problem with them staying here?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. If we're going to get married, I don't want them to be hanging around in _our_ house."

"Val's not even planning on staying in the house for a long time."

"She's smarter than she looks."

"Why don't you stay?" he asked to change the subject.

"I told you already. Thanks, but no thanks."

"You know what, fine. You win. I don't want to fight with you."

"Who wants to lose anyway."

"I'll see you tomorrow," Tyler gave her a goodbye kiss and watched her leave from the door.

A black tinted Mercedes parked in front of the house. Andrea waved one last time to Tyler before getting in the car.

"Let's go," she said as the driver sped off.

When they were well off from Tyler's mansion, her driver spoke up.

"How are things going so far?"

"Everything's going perfectly fine," she laughed. "The hard part was just over. In three months time, I'll be Andrea Burbank, multi-millionaire model extraordinaire."

"I take it that he proposed."

"He was being disgustingly romantic, but a proposal is a proposal."

"So, where to Mrs. Connell?"

"Connell? I prefer that you call me Ms. Burbank."

"Well, then where to Ms. Burbank?"

"Do you really need to ask, Treb?"

The driver laughed as the car disappeared into traffic.

"I guess not."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Connell household became silent once again as Hank, Jamie, Caitie, Brooke, and the rest of the kids left. Tyler walked them all to the door. As soon as he turned around, he saw Val sitting on the stairs and looking at him. Gradually, he approached her.

"Don't worry. I'll clean up the mess. The helpers will be here tomorrow. I actually asked them to stay in the house for a while or so."

"Where are they staying?"

"They have their rooms," he replied as he settled beside her.

"Why don't they stay here anymore?"

"Andrea didn't like them for some reason. I thought they were great. They were the nicest group of people you could ask to help you with your house, and I trust them. Andrea on the other hand thought they were gold-diggers." 

"Are they?"

"Of course not, but I didn't want to argue with her, so I just told them that I'd call in case I need them."

"So why did you call them back to stay here?"

"I don't know, but I guess I need them here."

"And do they were those fancy uniforms?"

"They wear an ensemble of white and black."

"Ah, like those French maids."

"Exactly," he laughed.

"How many are there?"

"Well, there are five regular helpers. Two people actually still live here, but I gave them two tickets on a cruise for their honeymoon."

"Oh, how sweet of you. Who are they?"

"Alfred Green is my butler, while Karen is the mistress of the house. She helps me with my clothes, and she's not afraid to tell me that I have bad taste at times."

"Well, I guess you need her a lot more than you thought," she said jokingly as she eyed his suit.

"Hey," he said as he elbowed her playfully. "I can dress myself."

Val laughed and a feeling of awkwardness filled the air between them.

"So, what did you think?"

"Think of what?"

"Earlier."

"Oh, well, you were really romantic."

"Not about that."

"Then about what?"

"Andrea."

"Well, she's… You know, what I mean."

"You don't like her?" he asked with a hint of disappointment.

"I think she's great," Val lied, bringing a smile of relief on Tyler's face.

"For a minute there, I thought you wouldn't approve."

"You don't need my approval, Tyler."

"I know, but I need your blessing with me on this one."

"Well, you have mine," she forced a smile.

"Thank you so much," he smiled back. "Can I ask you something?"

"Go right ahead."

"Would you be my maid of honor?"

"What?"

"Would you be my maid of honor?" he repeated.

"I thought that would be Andrea's job."

"She picked the best man, now I get to pick the maid of honor."

"Wouldn't she have a say in this? She probably won't like the idea."

"It's my wedding, too. If I had to pick the best man, I would pick Hank and Jamie."

"I just don't want to cause any trouble."

"You won't be. Andrea will come around."

"Why me?"

"I have my reasons."

Val looked at him skeptically before standing up.

"I better go to bed," she said as she began to climb the stairs.

"Val?"

"Yes, Tyler?"

"Thank you for coming here. You don't know how much it means to me to have you two here."

"Well, I know how much you missed Alyssa. She missed you a lot too. Plus, I just couldn't stand the 'I wanna see Daddy' speech anymore."

"She's not the only one I missed," he said as he came over to her side.

"She's not?"

"I missed you, too."

"You did?"

"Of course, Val," He smiled before giving her a hug. "You're one of my best friends. You're a big part of my life as much as Alyssa."

"I feel the same way," she said before escaping his embrace.

"Don't worry, Val. We'll be here for you and Alyssa. I didn't know Seth was such a jerk. I mean, what kind guy would impregnate his wife, and then call a divorce the following day? I always thought he loved you."

"I don't think I ever loved him, and it wasn't the following day."

"Okay, I was exaggerating, but he's still a jerk for what he did."

"Well, actually, he doesn't know about the divorce," she paused. "And he's not a jerk."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm the one who's thinking about it. He just doesn't know it yet."

"Well, I still think he's a jerk."

"Seth isn't a jerk."

"Come on, the guy is letting you go here alone with Alyssa knowing that you're pregnant of his baby, and he's not even concerned about your safety."

"Well, the thing is he… Uh… Technically, he doesn't know about the… Uh…"

Val cringed from the look on Tyler's face, and she made a face of her own, like she's expecting a violent volcanic eruption from him.

"Val…" he said in a warning tone.

"Look, I just…" she began like she had a point before trailing off. "It was for the best."

"It doesn't matter, Val. He has the right to know. It's his freaking baby for God's sake."

"I know, so just calm down and stop yelling at me," she said as she returned to sitting on one of the steps, almost in tears. "It's just… Hard. I'm scared that he's going to ignore the baby. And what do you suppose I would say when the baby asks about his father?"

Tyler sat beside her once more and put an arm around her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know it was that hard for you."

Val looked at him with a tearstained face before she started to talk once again.

"You have no idea how grateful I am that you didn't run away when I told you I was pregnant."

"You didn't do anything by yourself. I just did what I had to do."

"Most guys would have left me alone."

"I'm not just any guy. I'm a lawyer you know."

"You know what they say about lawyers," Val smiled. "Especially male ones. They're a bunch of liars."

"Well, I'm not just any another lawyer. I'm Tyler Connell --- your best friend."

"Thank you."

"And you know that I would never do that."

"I know."

"Why don't you go to bed? We'll be visiting schools tomorrow for possible schools for Alyssa."

Val just nodded and headed towards her room.

"Good night, Tyler."

"Good night, Val. Sweet dreams."

"You too."

"See you in the morning."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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I know it was shorter than the other chapters, but I have to end this one here. I hope you liked it, and don't forget to review. Thanks for reading. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


	5. Reminiscing the Past

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic, except the ones that you don't recognize. Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth own them all. Due to the problems in fanfiction.net, this chapter took a while to get out. The song "I Drive Myself Crazy" is by NSYNC. The plot belongs to me : ) Happy reading!

Note: *~*~* means a switch from present time to the time in the book and vice versa; ~~~~~ means a switch between different scenes; and ***** means a switch from past to present in the book or flashbacks. The italics are mostly when someone's thoughts.

**__**

Realization of Fate

Reminiscing the Past

The moment she reached her room, Val closed the door immediately and locked it as though an ax murderer was chasing her. In reality, she was only running away from _him_.

"Why do you have to be you?" she asked to no one in particular as she leaned on the door and fell to the floor. 

Everything was fine before, and now, two days after she returned, everything was starting to confuse her all over again. Was it because she's staying at his house? Was it because he proposed to Andrea? Was it because she was falling for him all over again?

"I can't," she reminded herself. "I'm married and pregnant, and my husband doesn't even have a clue that I'm having his child and divorcing him."

__

Have you ever been in a position where, in a matter of seconds, everything that you thought made sense makes no sense at all? I lived that moment at that point in time. How come you only know the worth of what you have when it's about to be taken away from you? He's nice, sensitive, sweet, understanding, caring, …he's everything I can't have. At least not anymore. Just when I thought things can't get any worse, they multiply by ten…

Val finally pulled herself up from her position and sat on her bed. Thinking it would take her mind off the subject, she turned on the radio and laid down her head on one of the pillows. The DJ's voice soon became clearly audible from the radio.

"And here's a request by Caroline, who said that the song reminded her of an old love and a mistake she wished had never happened. Here's 'I Drive Myself Crazy' by NSYNC."

Intrigued, Val closed her eyes and let the music engulf her.

__

Lying in your arms

So close together

Didn't know just what I had

Now I toss and turn

Cause I'm without you

How I'm missing you so bad

Where was my head?

Where was my heart?

Now I cry alone in the dark

I lie awake, I drive myself crazy

Drive myself crazy thinking of you

Made a mistake when I let you go baby

I drive myself crazy

Wanting you the way that I do

As the song went on, memories of the past came back all over again …Particularly that solemn day near the end of their freshman year in college.

__

I was such a fool

I couldn't see it

Just how good you were to me

You confessed your love

Undying devotion

I confessed my need to be free

********************

"Tyler, why are we in the park? I have some better things to do."

"Val, I need to ask you something," Tyler said rather excitedly in a nervous fashion. "This…"

"I think I should go first," Val said rather calmly. "I guess this is as good a time as any."

"Go ahead."

"I think we should take a break."

"Well, we're not doing anything much right now," he tried to make a joke.

"Away from each other."

"What?" he asked with surprise in his tone. "What are you talking about? Where is all of this coming from?"

"Tyler, this is what I want," Val told him as she sat on one of the benches in the park. "I want to be a doctor. If I am going to be one, then this is what I should focus on."

"What about us?" Tyler asked her. "I love you."

"I love you, too, but this is not permanent. It's just a time away from **us**, but I can't succeed in school if you keep taking up my time." 

"Taking up your time?" Tyler said with a hint of frustration. "Val, we don't go out anymore. We barely see each other. Whenever we do talk, we end up fighting, like what we're doing right now. I don't even have any of your time. It will only get worse if we do this."

"School is important to me. I …I don't have seconds to spare for any quality time. I'm already behind schedule and schoolwork. You of all people should understand."

"What about us?" Tyler asked her again, hoping she'd see things from his side.

"We're still together. It's just a break, Tyler."

"Break… Breakup… It's the same thing. Now I'm going to ask you one more time. What about us?"

"I don't know. If you can't accept the fact that I need space and that I need you to give me time and not put in a situation where I have to choose between you and my future, then I don't think this is going to work."

"Don't say that!"

"I don't think this relationship will last at all."

Tyler was already in tears. He just looked at Val, thinking about the words she just said. 

"Tyler, say something," Val pleaded.

"If this is what you want, then I won't stand in your way," Tyler told her in the coldest tone possible. 

Silence followed after his words as Tyler tried to hold himself together. 

"I guess this is goodbye."

"I guess so," Val stated. "We can still be friends, right?"

"Yea," Tyler said, although he did not know what would really happen. 

"I better go," Val said as she left him all alone.

As soon as she reached her room, Val collapsed to her bed and cried.

********************

__

And now I'm left

With all this pain

I've only got myself to blame

………………………………

Crying her eyes out, Val turned off the radio, unable to take anymore reminder of what happened. In a strange way, the song was saying the exact thoughts that she was having at the time. As she recalled, the break up wasn't the worst…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tyler closed his bedroom door quietly after he finished cleaning up the kitchen. He was engaged…finally. Who would have expected Tyler Connell to be wed to a supermodel? If the same question was asked back when he was in high school, well, Valerie Lanier would probably have been the obvious choice.

He recollected the talk that they had earlier. He figured she wasn't as happy as she had claimed time and time before. If things had gone differently, he might have been married to her, but fate had other plans. Instead, they had a daughter together, but were married or engaged to different people. It was a weird situation, but he was thankful that they were friends. Close friends. Good friends. The best of friends. Back in college, as Tyler remembered, he thought they would never gain their friendship back.

********************

__

I was devastated. I locked myself in my room. I never wanted to go out. And then I reached a point where everything around me reminded me of her and of the pain she has caused me. It drove me mad. I decided to go away. I moved as far away as possible. She came to talk to me …To stop me from leaving …But my heart was cold and full of hate. 

"Can I come in?"

"Yea," he said silently without bothering to turn around and face her.

Val knew what Tyler had been going through. Heck, almost everyone in the campus knew. It hurt her to see him like this. The Tyler she knew was never like this …Ever.

"Why are you doing this?" 

"Of all the people, I think you would be the one to know," Tyler told her smugly.

"Don't do this, Tyler."

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" 

Val fell silent as if a knife was struck to her flesh.

"I'm your friend."

"That's funny," Tyler commented, still having his back to her. "Since when was the last time we 'friends' talked?"

"You know what I mean, Tyler. Now why are you doing this?"

"Because everything in this place reminds me of you!" Tyler said crossly, finally facing her. "Everywhere I go… Everything I see… Everyone I know… They keep reminding me of you. It seems like there's a dagger fixed in my heart, and every time you come up, I feel the dagger twisting inside of me. I need to get far away from this place as possible. Far away from you. I can't take anymore of this."

Tyler took his remaining luggage and headed out the door.

"You can't do this."

"I thought this is what you wanted. Time and space, right? Well, you know what, I'm going to give it to you right now."

"Tyler, don't leave," Val pleaded.

"Watch me," Tyler said coldly as he left her alone.

__

I think it hurt her, but I convinced myself that it was for the best. For both of us. We never saw each other again for a long time. I returned a year later, dragging along my friend, Robert O'Brien, with me. We seldom talked to each other, but never kept in touch. After college, a few meaningless postcards were sent back and forth between us. We only made peace with each other during that wedding day. We've definitely come a long way since then. A long way in did.

********************

Now that he thought about it, Tyler noticed that neither Val nor him talked about what happened during those time. If he were to decide, he would choose not to know and not to talk about it. Besides, they finally got to a place where they can just talk and be happy for each other. Also, he was engaged to Andrea Burbank, and nothing could be more fulfilling for him than that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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I know this took a really long time, but school already started, and I already had the privilege of turning in two essays - - - One on the second day of school. I'm really sorry. That was it for this chapter though…a glimpse from the past. I figured you should know what happened. Don't forget to review! Later! ~ Scarlet182


	6. ... But You Belong to Someone Else

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic, except the ones that you don't recognize. Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth own them all. 

A/N: I'm sorry for the long delay once again. In a nutshell, my schedule was hectic. I'm trying my best to finish this. I hope you're still reading. If you are, then thank you.

Note: *~*~* means a switch from present time to the time in the book and vice versa; ~~~~~ means a switch between different scenes; and ***** means a switch from past to present in the book or flashbacks. The italics are mostly when someone's thoughts.

**__**

Realization of Fate

… But You Belong to Someone Else

Val started to wake up as the aroma of a nice, warm coffee and some bacon and eggs caught her senses.

"Seth…" she murmured.

Tyler's smile turned into a grimace at the sound of his name.

"It's Tyler," he corrected.

"What?" she asked as she sat up. "I know who you are."

"You just called me Seth."

"I did?" she asked with concern.

"Yea."

"I'm sorry. It's just that he used to bring me breakfast in bed, and the smell just reminded me…"

"It's okay, Val. You don't have to give me the details of what he used to do."

Silence and awkwardness filled the room. Val turned to her breakfast, while Tyler just stood beside her.

"Does it bother you?" asked Val.

"What?"

"That I talk about Seth."

"No. I mean, talking about Andrea doesn't bother you, right?"

"Right," she forced a smile. "So, what's on the agenda for today?"

"I'm taking you and Alyssa to a school where I think would be best for her. Kyle and Chrissy will go there this fall."

"And what school would this be?"

"Browning Ridge Academy."

"Isn't that a private school?"

"Of course."

"And Kyle and Chrissy are going there?"

"That's what I said."

"But I thought Caitie and Jamie prefer public schools?"

"This is only until the kids reach first grade. The same goes for Chrissy. Malcolm went there before moving to Kingsport Elementary."

"Isn't it a bit expensive?"

"Well, yea, but we have the money. I'm paying for Kyle and Chrissy's tuition there as a gift for being their godfather and for all the help that Caitie an Jamie gave me."

"You mean **you **have the money. I can't afford that."

"Val, you provided our daughter all the necessities that she needed. I missed out on a lot. I think it would only be fair if I do this."

"I can't let you do that."

"I want to do it, and you can't change my mind."

"Fine, but when we move out of here…"

"You can stay here."

"I can't depend on you on everything, Tyler. Besides, Andrea would disapprove if we stay here."

"Me being with Andrea won't change anything."

"If you say so."

"Now hurry up and get ready before we're late for our meeting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tyler attended his daughter and helped her get ready.

"Are you ready to see your new school?"

"No."

"Why not? It's going to be fun. Kyle and Chrissy will be there."

"I miss Annie."

"Who's Annie."

"My _fwiend._ Annie and Jack and Emily and Sam…

Tyler gets down on his knees in front of her.

"Honey, you'll make new friends here. You're going to a new school now, and they'll see how nice and smart you are."

"Really?"

"I promise."

"Thank you, Daddy."

"You're welcome," he smiled. "Now go pick your clothes, and I'll help you put it on."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Val!" Tyler yelled. "Are you done already? We're late."

"I'm coming," she said as she descended down the stairs.

"Come on," he said as he opened the door. "Andrea?"

"Where are you going?"

"I'm taking Val and Alyssa to see the school she's going to be enrolled in. What brings you here?"

"Don't tell me you forgot."

"Forgot what?"

"I have a photo shoot in L.A. this afternoon. You told me that you'd go with me."

"Oh… I'm so sorry. I totally forgot."

"Obviously."

"I'll make it up to you."

"The flight leaves in two hours. I assume you're not even packed."

"Look, we're already late."

"And we're not?"

"I'll take a later flight, and I'll meet you at the hotel. I promise."

"You better keep it. I have to go."

"I'll see you then. I love you."

"Whatever. Just be there."

Andrea left leaving Tyler stunned and disappointed.

"I guess I screwed this one up."

"It wasn't your fault," said Val.

"I feel bad about it."

"You know, you can go if you want. We can do this later. It's still summer anyway."

"Are you sure?" Tyler asked. "I'll only be gone for a couple of days. I can ask Hank to stay here for a while to watch you two."

"Sure. You can do whatever you want."

"Where are you going, Daddy?"

"I have to go somewhere with Andrea, okay? I'll be back soon."

"You're leaving?"

"I'll be back before you know it."

"What about my new school?"

"I'll tell you what. I'll call Uncle Hank, and he can take you there."

"But I want you."

"Honey," said Val. "Daddy has to go somewhere. He'll bring you a present."

"Do you promise?"

Tyler mouthed a "thank you" to Val.

"I promise. I'll bring you tons of presents."

"Okay," Alyssa smiled. "You can go now."

With that, Tyler called Hank and ran to his room to pack.

__

"So much for not changing anything…" Val whispered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hank, Val, and Alyssa just left the school. Although the meeting ended thirty minutes ago, they ended up spending more time than necessary.

"What did you think of the school?" Hank asked Val.

"I thought it was nice. I like the principal. I think Alyssa would have fun there."

"How about you, Alyssa?"

"I like the _pwayground_."

"Well, you can go and play there as long as you want when school starts," said Val. "So Hank, where are we going next?"

"Remember that job that I told you about?"

"Yea."

"If you don't have any plans, you can come with me right now, and I'll introduce you to my boss."

"That's fine. It's not like I can go anywhere without you."

"Where are we going, Mommy?"

"Do you want to see Uncle Hank's office?"

"I want! I want!"

"Then your wish is my command," Hank said. "Come on. There's a nice ice cream store in the cafeteria."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that evening, the three picked up Malcolm from the babysitter. They stopped by Hank's house to pack some clothes before they headed to Tyler's house. Alyssa and Malcolm are both asleep in the backseat.

"When is Tyler coming back again?" asked Hank.

"In a couple of days. At least that's what he said."

"Why was he in such a hurry anyway?"

"Heather."

"Heather?"

"Andrea. I meant to say Andrea. Gosh, they're so alike."

"Tell me about it."

"Tyler felt guilty about his promise and left as soon as possible."

"I'm telling you - that girl cast a spell on him. She has him wrapped on her fingers."

"How did they meet anyway?"

"At a charity benefit."

"How ironic."

"Well, Tyler sees something in her that's completely invisible to us."

"I believe the shock of my life was when he proposed to her."

"At least he got a yes this time."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing."

"But you said that…"

"Tyler had some dream long ago that he proposed and got a no a number of times."

"Was the girl Andrea?"

"Um… He didn't say. Maybe."

Val just decided to drop the subject. _'What's the point? It'll just add to my miseries anyway.'_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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I hope you liked it! I know it took a while. Don't forget to review! Thanks for reading. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


	7. Back From Tinsel Town

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic, except the ones that you don't recognize. Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth own them all. 

A/N: I you're still reading, then thank you. Sorry for the long, long delay

Note: *~*~* means a switch from present time to the time in the book and vice versa; ~~~~~ means a switch between different scenes; and ***** means a switch from past to present in the book or flashbacks. The italics are mostly when someone's thoughts.

**__**

Realization of Fate

Back From Tinsel Town

He didn't realize how much colder Kingsport was from the other side of the country until he was standing outside the door of his house while trying to find his key. He could have easily knocked, but assuming that it is already past midnight, he did not want to wake up anyone. 

"Welcome back, Tyler," he said to himself as he closed the door behind him.

He headed upstairs when he noticed a small dim light from the living room. He decided to check it out and not surprisingly, the TV was on. He turned off the TV when he recognized a figure sleeping on the couch. Slowly, he approached the body and carefully proceeded to wake her up.

"Val, wake up," he whispered.

Only a sigh came from her lips that caused a smile to erupt from his face. He stood up and searched for a blanket nearby and placed it on top of her. 

"Good night," he said as he moved a stand of her hair behind her ears.

He leaned in to kiss her forehead when the previously reposed person rose up, causing their foreheads to collide.

"Ouch!" she exclaimed. 

"Ow, that hurt you know!" Tyler said at the same time.

"What are you doing here? You're not due back in another two days."

"I had a slight change of plans. Besides, I miss my daughter."

He stood up and went to the kitchen.

"Do you need some ice?"

"I would think so," she said as she followed him.

"I never realized what a tough skull you have," Tyler said as he hander her a cold compress ice pack.

"I could say the same thing about you. Don't do that again. You almost gave me a heart attack."

"I promise."

Tyler led her to the table and both of them sat down.

"How was Tinsel Town?"

"It was and will forever be LA."

"How was your trip?"

"It was fun for the most part. There were the photo shoots, the shopping, the photo shoots, the paparazzi, and of course, the photo shoots. You could easily see how much fun I had."

"Crystal."

"I decided to head home early. I had stuff to do anyway."

"Alyssa has been constantly asking for you."

"I'll surprise her in the morning. How was you visit at the school."

"It went well. Alyssa seemed to like it. She fell in love with the playground in an instant."

"And what about the job that Hank was talking about?"

"Well, I've been thinking about it. I guess I'll take it until the baby is almost due. I need to get out of this house."

"Do you need to borrow my car?"

"No, but thanks for the offer. Hank's going to pick me up here and drive me home."

"That's really generous of him," he said, finally putting the ice pack down.

Silence filled the room for a moment until Tyler felt something grabbing his leg. He looked down to see his daughter.

"Alyssa?"

"You're back," she said sleepily as she hugged his leg.

Tyler raised her to his lap and looked at Val.

"What is she doing up? It's past midnight already."

"I don't know. I thought she was already in bed."

"Honey, what are you doing down here?" he asked Alyssa.

"I… Surprise… You," she mumbled as she laid her head on his chest and went back to sleep.

"Well, I'm surprised," he whispered and kissed the top of her head. 

"She really missed you. I just don't know how she knew you were back."

"Maybe it's a father-daughter intuition thing."

"Yea, maybe."

"We better get upstairs."

"Do you want me to take her to your room?"

"I'll do it."

"I'll see you in the morning."

"It's too late for that."

"You know what I mean," she playfully hit his arm.

"Good night, Val."

"Good night, Tyler."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tyler woke up in alarm at the thought of the ground shaking.

"Am I still in LA?" he asked no one in particular.

"Daddy! Wake up! Daddy! Wake up!"

Tyler groaned and turned his attention to his daughter.

"Alyssa, daddy had a long flight, and he has to go to sleep."

" Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

"Alyssa, stop it!"

The girl stopped and sat down on the bed. Tyler waited for her to say something when he heard sobs instead. Tyler sat up and faced her.

"Oh, come on, please don't cry," he pleaded. "Don't give me that look."

Alyssa continued to cry.

"I didn't mean to get mad. I just wanted to sleep. I promise I won't do it again."

Alyssa continued to cry and looked at him again.

"Would you please stop it? I have presents for you downstairs."

Finally, the girl calmed down.

"Presents?"

"If I give them to you, do you promise not to cry anymore."

"I promise."

"Come on, let's go," he said as he took her off his bad and into his arms.

"I'm sorry, Daddy."

"You are just like your mother."

"Why?"

"Because she keeps saying she's sorry."

"I'm sorry," the girl laughed. "Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry."

"You can stop now," he smiled.

When they reached downstairs, he put her down and opened one of his luggage. He took out one doll resembling Mickey Mouse and handed them to her.

"Is this for me?"

"Yes," he replied as he took out another doll that resembled Minnie Mouse.

"Is that for me?"

"Yes."

This process went on until all six dolls, including, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and Pluto, were out of the bag.

"Do you like them?"

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

"Come here!" he said as he gathered her in his arms and spun her in the air, making her laugh.

"Can I play now?" she asked when he finally put her down.

"Go right ahead."

Tyler rearranged his luggage when the least expected person came to his view.

"I see that they're still here."

"Andrea, what are you doing here?"

"In case you forgot, you gave me a key. What are your helpers still doing here? I thought you told them to leave."

"I need them around the house, and I assure you that they are not gold diggers. Now, what are you doing here at nine in the morning?"

"Excuse me for coming in at this time of the day, but I'm your fiancée, remember?"

"Yes, I remember."

"Anything else?"

"Do you have a problem with Val and my daughter staying here?"

"In case you're experiencing a slight doze of amnesia, the answer is yes."

"What have they ever done to you? If we're going to get married soon, then you have to understand that they're a big part of my life, and I'm not going to abandon them."

"Not even for me?"

With that, Andrea stepped out of the door. 

"I'll be back tonight for your answer."

Tyler could do nothing but stare towards her direction. Finally, the truth is about to come out. Andrea just gave him the most difficult ultimatum of all and he needs to figure it out by tonight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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That was it for this one. I hope you liked it. Thanks for reading it. I'm sorry again. I'll be back! ~ Scarl182


	8. The Ultimatum

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic, except the ones that you don't recognize. Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth own them all. ESPN is not mine : ) 

A/N: If you don't recall who Walter Steinberg is, turn to chapter 3.

Note: *~*~* means a switch from present time to the time in the book and vice versa; ~~~~~ means a switch between different scenes; and ***** means a switch from past to present in the book or flashbacks. The italics are mostly when someone's thoughts.

**__**

Realization of Fate

The Ultimatum

The sound of his shaky footsteps echoed against the kitchen wall. It was only seven o'clock in the morning, and the house was practically barren except for petty noises from the playroom. He had been in the same state for almost half an hour. He figured it would only take a moment before he bore a hole through the floor.

"What am I going to do?" he murmured before grabbing the phone and dialing the number he called frequently before in times of crisis.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was the terrific time of the day to spend in the comfort of your own bed. Usually during weekends, he would be in bed until ten o'clock at the latest. It was a routine that he had gotten used to for the past years and one that he had grown to love: the sweet aroma of the coffee as he steps into the kitchen, the joy of finding out that his favorite team has just won a game on ESPN, and the few minutes of silence before his son comes out of his room. 

Today was a different story: his best friend just woke him up with an urgent call at seven in the morning, and there was no coffee yet for the coffee maker was set to a later time. 

"What are you going to do?" Hank asked. "And what did you call me for anyway?"

"That's exactly what I called you. That answers both questions by the way."

"Tyler, I don't think I can help you with that."

"Come on, Hank. You're the reasonable one."

"I'm not in the position to give you any advice."

"I'm desperate here!"

"You want my advice. Fine. Dump Andrea. There you go. Problem solved."

"What the hell was that?"

"An advice?"

"That's not an advice. I can't just dump her. She's my fiancée for crying out loud!"

"Then dump Val."

"I can't believe I'm hearing this… FROM YOU!!! I can't abandon Val. She's my wife!"

"What!?!"

"I meant my ex-wife… No!!! I meant… Ugh!!! She's the mother of my child. She's one of my best friends."

Hank remained quiet for a moment before bursting out in laughter.

"What is so funny?"

"You are so hopeless. You're still hung up on her."

"On who?"

"Don't play dumb on me. You know that I'm talking about Val."

"I am not! How can you say that? I'm getting married here."

"If that's the case, then why did you have to make this such a big deal?"

"Because IT IS A BIG DEAL!!!"

"All right!!! You don't have to yell. What I'm saying is that you could have just talked to Andrea and made some kind of compromise or something. If that didn't work, you could've talked to Val. I'm sure she would've understood."

"That's not the point…"

"Do you love Andrea?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to marry her?"

"That's the reason for the proposal."

"Then work things through with her."

"Do you think she'll understand?"

"If she really loves you…"

"She does."

"Then there you go."

"Thanks Hank."

"You're welcome. Now could you please go put down the phone so I could go back to sleep."

"Oh, right. I'm sorry about that. Bye."

"Bye."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the first time in his life, Tyler learned to appreciate the great goodness of the redial button. He has been trying to contact Andrea on her cell phone for fifteen minutes. For the past year that he has known her, she has never turned her cell phone off, except when she's at home or when the battery is almost out. This only made him worry more. Then again, he figured that maybe she is just ignoring him. They now have caller IDs on cell phones nowadays. _'Hopefully, Treb's with her. At least her driver can keep her from being harmed.' _He put down the phone and immediately headed to his room to get dressed. On his way up the stairs, he met Val.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"It's a long story."

"Is something wrong?"

"To put it in a nutshell, I'm trying to save my marriage."

"Did something happen?"

"I can't talk right now. I have to go. Alyssa's downstairs in the playroom. I'll be back later."

"Tyler, is everything all right?" she asked with concern.

"Everything's fine, Val. You have nothing to worry about."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It only took him twenty minutes to take a shower and get dressed when the phone rang.

"Andrea?" Tyler said.

"No, this is Walter Steinberg. Is this Tyler Connell?"

"This is Connell."

"I was made aware that you declined my offer."

"I assigned Robert O'Brien to the case, sir."

"I understand that completely, but I wanted you."

"Well, I took a break to be with my daughter."

"You should have told me that. I would have waited for the best guy in the business."

"Thank you, sir, but my partner and I had some conflict on the matter."

"Are you still available?"

"I'll be glad to work for you."

"Can I ask you a huge favor?"

"Anything."

"Your partner, Mr. O'Brien, has some of the files for the case in his office. Do you mind if you could get it for me?"

"I'm on my way out. I'll get them for you."

"Thank you."

"I have to go, sir. I'll talk to you later."

Once again, he put down the phone and hurried down the stairs.

"Are you going already?" asked Val.

"I have to go. Less talk and more moving."

Before she had a chance to say anything, Tyler was out of the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tyler waited until the elevator reached his floor. When the doors opened, he went directly to Robbie's office. He's the only person who has the master key to every room in the building. He promptly searched his desk until he found a folder with the words STEINBERG, WALTER.

"Bingo!" he said as he went for the door.

On his way, he saw a picture of Robbie, Andrea, and him at one of their company parties. They were quite a trio. The other gang that he belonged to without his high school friends. The picture reminder him of Andrea. Pushing his luck, he called her once again. Tyler jumped with surprise when he heard a phone ring from behind.

"What was that?"

He turned around and saw a familiar object on the table.

"What is this thing doing here?"

He picked up the brown leather purse on the table. It was the one she gave her for Christmas. With the process, Tyler accidentally knocked over a glass-plaque on Robert's desk.

"So much for his award."

Tyler put down the purse and picked up the pieces of the plaque. As he put them in the trash, he noticed a piece that contained his first name. From his point of view, the letters read T-R-E-B-O-R.

"Trebor," Tyler said out loud for fun before realizing something that he can't even start to comprehend. "Treb? The driver? It can't be… Then again, I've never met the guy. It can't be. He isn't even here. He's in Hawaii for vacation."

Tyler grabbed the purse, left the office in a hurry, and went down to the main desk.

"Good morning, Mr. Connell."

"Good morning, Stella. Could you show me the list of attendance for the day?"

"I'll get the attendance for you, sir. Just wait a minute."

One minute turned into ten and no record was present. Impatience got the best of him and Tyler decided to leave before the woman could catch him.

"Only Mr. O'Brien was in this morning…" she said when she realized no one was there. "Oh well, the things you do to for someone."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tyler headed straight for Andrea's house to return her purse. He figured that it would give him an excuse to see her. He parked his car on her driveway and went to the door. He didn't even bother knocking for he had his own key like she had one for his house. The house seemed equally quiet as his and almost as desolate.

"She must be upstairs."

Tyler went up with the purse in his hand. Of course, he knew where her room was so he just went straight directly to its location. He knocked on the door.

"Andrea? It's Tyler. Look, I'm really sorry about earlier. I know we can work something out. We said, well, you said that I have until tonight, but I want to get this over now. I don't like it when we fight. Please open the door. I know you're in there."

Tyler waited when he heard footsteps on the floor. 

"Are you all right in there? It sounds like you have a visitor."

There was still no response. Tyler reposed on the floor when he noticed something from the little opening of her door at the bottom of the floor. Like a child, he swooped down and got a closer look. To his surprise, it resembled a tip of a tie. Using his best abilities, he tried to pull out the whole thing, only to discover its owner.

"This can't be happening…" he said to himself. "Andrea! Let me in right this instant. I know you're not along so just stop pretending."

There was no reply. Tyler got irritated and broke the door open with a mighty kick. Just as he suspected, he saw his fiancée with Robert, who were both partially dressed.

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That was it! I'll continue it later, but it's past 1 in the morning. Thanks for reading. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


	9. Sex, Lies, and Betrayal

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic, except the ones that you don't recognize. Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth own them all.

A/N: Just remember that the title of this chapter is just the title and nothing more.

Note: *~*~* means a switch from present time to the time in the book and vice versa; ~~~~~ means a switch between different scenes; and ***** means a switch from past to present in the book or flashbacks. The italics are mostly someone's thoughts.

**__**

Realization of Fate

Sex, Lies, and Betrayal

Mixed emotions were going on inside of him as he watched the scene unfold. Hurt, anger, and betrayal are just a few among the list. The worst part is that he trusted them… BOTH of them. As he watched the two of them gather their belongings, he can't help but think how much of a cliché this incident is. His wife and his best friend were cheating on him behind his back. He figured that if an all-out war broke out, the scenario would be a perfect episode for Jerry Springer.

"Tyler!" cried Andrea. "Why did you break down the door? You could have waited for me to open it instead of barging in here. Who let you in?"

"You gave me a key," he said as he threw it on the floor. "And I did wait for you to come out and kept calling your name, but nobody answered. And the next thing I know, I hear more than a pair of feet scuffling on the floor. I'm sorry if my suspicion got the best of me, but I'm glad I broke through this door. Now I know where I really stand."

"It's not my fault," Andrea said. "I was mad at you."

"Well, it took you long enough to hop in the sack with my best friend."

Tyler stepped closer to Robert until they were only two feet away from each other.

"Aren't you supposed to be in Hawaii?"

"Look, Tyler, I didn't mean to…"

"Aloha to you, too!"

And with that, Tyler lunged at him and punched him in the face. 

"How could you do this to me?" Tyler asked him in anguish. "I trusted you. How could you go running behind my back?"

"Tyler!" said Andrea. "Calm down. This only happened once."

"Is that supposed to make things better?" Tyler said. "You know what, I'm tired of hearing you talk. Why don't you let Robbie answer? Or should I say, Trebor? Here's your stupid purse by the way."

Robert stood up and faced him.

"Tyler, I'm really sorry…"

"Not sorry enough. Now, tell me. Are you really the driver? Just tell me the truth."

"He's not," said Andrea.

"I didn't ask you, Andrea. Robbie, we've been through a lot over the past years. Just tell me he truth and be honest for a change. How long has this been going on?"

Robert hesitated before finally speaking up.

"You really want to know the truth? Well, here it is. Yes, I am the supposed driver. This has been going on for a while now. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I understand. But I don't get it. Why?"

"Don't listen to him, Tyler. I love you."

"Me? You love me? Or is it my money that you love so much?"

Tyler wasn't surprised when Andrea avoided his gaze. In reality, he knew it all along. It was right in front of him, but he was too blind to see it. He chose to be blind. No wonder he missed it. Everything that has happened fits perfectly now.

"Do you want me to tell the press, or do you want to tell them yourself?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"The wedding is off, Andrea. It's over."

"What about my reputation? You're going to ruin it."

"Is that all you care about? Don't you even care about how I feel?"

"Can't we work this thing out?"

"When? Until we're married? Until you leave me and file for divorce because of 'irreconcilable differences'? Or did you already plot my death so you can take all of my fortune and run off to some foreign place?"

"How could you say that?" she said tensely. "I… I would never do that."

"Yes. You would."

Tyler wiped the brimming tears in his eyes. He looked at her once more before leaving the room.

"I really thought we had something special. I kept telling myself that it was not too good to be true. Now I realize that everything is too good to be true for me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tyler has been driving endlessly for a couple of hours. He looked around once in a while to see where he was, but at the moment, nothing looked familiar. And for the record, he didn't care. Without thinking, he pressed the redial button on his car phone. 

"Hello," came a male voice from the other line. "Who is this?"

"Jamie, this is Tyler."

"Where the heck are you? Val just called to ask where you were, and Hank's worried sick."

"I won't be home for a while, Jamie. Just give everyone else the message."

"But where are you going?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't…"

Tyler cut Jamie off and continued to drive. He had to get away, and farther he gets, the better.

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Did you like it? I don't know when I'll write the next part. While writing this, I had trouble with Andrea's name. I kept writing Heather for some reason. Weird, huh? Anyway, I have to study for the finals. I'll be back ~ Scarlet182


	10. The Unfinished Proposal

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic, except the ones that you don't recognize. Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth own them all.

**__**

Realization of Fate

The Unfinished Proposal

He shook his head before putting down the phone. When he turned, two pairs of eyes were staring right at him.

"That was Tyler," he informed Caitie and Hank.

"What did he say?" Hank asked.

"He just told me that he won't be home for a while."

"Well, where is he going?" asked Caitie.

"He doesn't know."

"Why didn't you ask him?" she asked once again.

"I did, but he just hung up."

"Maybe he had some business to do," Hank assumed. "You know how he is."

"Actually, I'm kind of worried. He didn't sound right at all. His voice was rather shaky, and it seemed like he was upset or something."

"Let's just hope for the best," Hank said. "And pray that he doesn't do anything ridiculous."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**__**

…One week later

Hank arrived at Jamie's house with a box of pizza. Since Caitie was out with Val and the kids, he and Jamie decided to have a little fun themselves. 

"Is this half supreme and half meat lovers?" asked Jamie as he let Hank in.

"What else would it be?"

"This is weird."

"What is? The pizza?"

"Tyler not being here. I just have the oddest feeling."

"I'm sure he's fine. Don't worry."

"I guess you're right."

"So, what are you watching?" Hank asked as they reached the living room.

"Just some nightly news."

"Anything interesting."

"Same old, same old."

Hank sat on the couch as Jamie went to grab some drinks and any other food he can find. 

"Jamie!"

"What?" he called out from the other room.

"Tyler's on TV!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you serious?" Val asked as she came out with some food from the kitchen.

"Look!" Caitie pointed out.

"Where is he at?"

"Los Angeles. The reporters spotted him near some building."

"Are you telling me that he drove over there?"

"It seems like it."

The two of them paused as they watched.

__

"What brings you here, Mr. Connell? **/** I just went for a little road trip, that's all."

"Did Ms. Burbank go with you? **/** She stayed in Virginia."

"What is going on with the Walter Steinberg case? **/ **We're still going over the details."

"Are you personally handling the case? **/** _Yes, I am."_

"How's you company holding up? **/** The money is still coming in."

……………

"When is the wedding?"

"Which one?" 

"Yours."

"There's no wedding."

"What?"

"You heard me. There is no wedding. Now, can I please go?"

"We don't understand," said a bunch of reporters.

"The wedding is off. There isn't going to be a wedding. Not in a month… Not in two months… Not ever."

"What happened?"

"I would rather not answer that question. Why don't you ask her? Now, please, just leave me alone."

……………

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hank and Jamie were both shocked after the whole interrogation with Tyler ended.

"Did I just see and hear what I thought I saw and heard?" asked Jamie.

Hank just nodded.

"Well, that certainly explains a lot."

"Tell me about it," Hank responded. "I can't believe that really just happened."

"No wonder he was acting weird."

"Well, there's a good thing about this whole thing."

"Yea," Jamie snickered. "We don' have to pretend to like Andrea any more."

"Well, that was not what I was thinking about, but that could be pro number two. The first one is that we know that Tyler's fine. Well, physically fine. Emotionally unwell."

"Do you want to know what I think?"

"It's not like anything is going to stop you from saying it."

"I think Tyler is some sort of a 'woman repeler.'"

"What are you talking about?"

"Come on, don't you see it?"

"See what?"

"Every time he's serious about somebody, he ends up breaking up with them. What is up with that?"

"Well, technically, it's not really his fault. They're the ones who break up with him."

"Hmm, good point."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Go right ahead."

"Do you think he'll ever get married?"

"Why do you ask that?"

"Well, it's just that every time the whole 'marriage-related-sort-of-thing' comes up, it's always a 'kiss of death' situation for him."

"Well, look at it this way, Hank. At least he got to propose this time."

Hank and Jamie shared a small laugh before they noticed that Caitie was watching them. Jamie immediately stood up.

"Caitie? What are you doing here?"

"Well, this is my house, and I need to get something."

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough."

Jamie turned to Hank before turning back to Caitie.

"You didn't happen to see the news, did you?"

"Actually, Val and I saw half of it before we turned off the TV."

"Don't you feel bad for him?" asked Jamie.

"Cut the crap, Jamie! I know that you two know something that you don't want me or anyone else to know."

"We're not hiding anything, right Hank?"

Hank stood up and smiled at Caitie nervously.

"Of course we're not."

"You see, the more you two do that, the more convinced I am that you're lying."

"We're not lying about anything," said Jamie.

"Then, do you mind telling me about the _'at least he got to propose this time'_ part?

"We never said that," Jamie said.

"Jamie, I love you, but you're a really bad liar."

"Funny," he said before playfully sticking his tongue out at her.

"I know what I heard."

"Just because we said it does not mean that it means anything."

"That was a classic comeback, Jamie," Hank said.

"You two are just making me more curious, and I will not leave until I find out."

"What do you want to find out?" asked Jamie.

"Was Tyler about to propose to some girl that I don't know about?" Caitie asked.

Hank and Jamie looked at each other as though to decide if they should just tell Caitie.

"We promised Tyler that we would not tell a soul," Hank said. "If we tell you, do you promise not tell anyone?"

"Fine, I promise. Now who is it? Val would really love to hear this."

"You promised not to tell anyone, and she really would not want to hear this," said Jamie.

"Why not?" asked Caitie.

"Because it's her."

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Did you guys like it? I hope so, but I had fun writing it so that's good. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review. I'll try to finish the next chapter soon. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


	11. Timing is Everything

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic, except the ones that you don't recognize. Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth own them all.

A/N: There are some minor, foul languages in the latter part of this chapter, but I assure you that they're not fatal or anything : )

**__**

Realization of Fate

Timing is Everything

Caitie took some time to gather herself. She was begging for an answer, and yet she wished she never got it. It wasn't at all like she expected.

"Could you run that by me again?"

"It was Val," Jamie confirmed. 

"When did this happen? How?"

"It's a long story," said Hank. "It was way back when they were still together."

"Why did you tell me? I don't want to know this."

"Wait a second," Hank said. "You were the one who was begging the two of us to tell you."

"So what? Tyler trusted you."

"We did it to make you quit nagging us," Jamie replied. "Besides, it doesn't matter now."

"Yes, it does. Now I won't be able to face Val alone."

"Caitie, my dear, **calm** wife, you're overreacting. It's not that big of a deal."

"I'll ruin this for everyone. I can't keep this secret from her."

"What?" Hank said. "You promised earlier. Oh man, Tyler is going to kill us."

"Why can't you just not tell her? Hank and I have been keeping this secret for a long time."

"I can't keep this from Val. I'm not very good at keeping secrets. I tell her everything."

"Of all people, I think you would be the one to be able to keep secrets really well," Hank said. "Am I right, Jamie?"

Jamie put his hands in his pockets and looked up and down.

"What are you trying to tell me?" asked Hank.

"Well, Caitie really isn't the one to keep secrets. I should have known, but it just slipped my mind. Gosh, I never learn."

"Okay, I think Tyler is **really** going to kill us now."

"I suppose that you two would like to accompany me," said Caitie as she grabbed a bag beside the couch. "I need to go back to the house, and everyone is waiting for me, especially Val."

"What's in the bag?" Jamie asked as he grabbed it from her. 

"It's just some stuffed animals that Kyle and Chrissy were looking for at the house. Obviously, I forgot to bring it earlier."

"Hank, I think we have to cut this party short."

"Obviously."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It only took a few minutes before they arrived at Tyler's house. Before they reached the door, Jamie grabbed Caitie's hand.

"Remember, you have to be strong," he said and smiled a bit after hearing what he said.

"Get a grip, Jamie," Caitie responded. "I can keep my mouth shut if I have to."

"That's what you said last time," he said in a not-so-murmured tone. 

Caitie purposely stepped on his left foot, causing him jump in pain.

"Oh, that was mature," Jamie said.

"Well, you got to do what you got to do."

"Would you two kids cut it out?"

"Yes, Dad," they both said, and the three ended up in laughter.

It only took a matter of time before Val opened the door to see what the commotion was about.

"What's going on here?" Val said.

"Nothing you would want to know," Hank said. "How are the kids? How's the pregnancy coming along?"

"The kids are fine. I'm not experiencing much pain yet. What took you so long anyway?"

"Well, the guys insisted on coming for a visit," replied Caitie. "And Jamie took a wrong turn on our way here."

Jamie gave Caitie and evil glare before entering the house.

"With Caitie nagging me, it's really hard to keep my concentration on the road."

With that remark, Caitie and Jamie started bickering.

"Why don't we leave the married couple alone?" Hank whispered to Val.

"That's a great idea."

The two went into the kitchen and started their own conversation.

"I'm assuming that you heard the news about Tyler's shattered engagement," said Hank.

"I saw it on the news when Caitie and I were watching it earlier. No wonder he took off."

"Don't you think he went a little bit overboard by leaving us high and dry? He didn't even give us a straight answer when asked about where he was heading."

"I see what you're trying to say, and I'm not saying that he did the right thing, but we don't even know what really happened."

"So what are you trying to say?"

"I'm just saying that maybe it wasn't just a simple break."

"You mean that Andrea must have cheated on him or something."

"Hey, you said it and not me."

Val turned on the TV, and ironically, Andrea was right in the middle of the screen.

"Speaking of the devil," Hank said, causing Val to smile.

"Be nice."

"What's going on here?" Jamie said as he entered the room with Caitie.

"Be quiet," said Val. "Andrea is on TV."

Once again, a pause occurred as the four turned their attention to the news.

__

"Can we ask you a few questions, Ms. Burbank? **/ **Go ahead."

"What's with the sudden break off with Tyler Connell? **/** I don't know what you're talking about."

"We got a response from him earlier today that you're engagement is history. **/ **Really?"

"Is this true? **/** I'm sorry to say this, but it is true."

"What happened? **/** We're both really busy nowadays. We figured out that we don't have much in common. Irreconcilable differences is what I would call it."

"So, what now? **/** I really don't have time for any of this right now. I have a photo shoot to attend to."

……………

"Val, you're awfully quiet." 

"Did you guys see that?"

"See what?" asked Hank.

"Look at her hand," Val said as she pointed towards the screen.

"What are you talking about?"

"Just look."

The three followed her finger and figured out what Val was trying to show them.

__

……………

"Any regrets? **/** I'm rich, thin, young, and famous. What more could a girl ask for?"

Disgusted by her display, Caitie went ahead and turned off the TV.

"Can you believe that bitch?" Caitie said a little too loudly. "She had the nerve to parade around the ring that Tyler gave her. It was on a different finger, but it's still the same ring."

"Quiet down," said Jamie. "There are kids upstairs."

"I can't believe her," said Hank. "I bet she was the one who broke of the engagement. She probably slept around with some guy or two. What a slut!"

"So much for the civil Dr. Beecham," said Jamie. "But I have to agree with you on that one."

"Tell me again," Caitie said. "What did Tyler see in her?"

"Don't ask me," said Val. "I just came back here a few weeks ago, but I see what you're saying."

"I guess we'll never know," said Hank. "Tyler liked her enough to propose, but she probably drugged him or something. You know, one of those love potion stuff in those soap operas."

"This is a lot of information to digest in one night," Jamie said. "I won't be surprised if we do get another one."

"Well, your wish might just be granted," Val said. "I have news for you."

"What is it?" Caitie asked.

"I found a place where Alyssa and I could stay. Basically, I'm moving out of here."

"I thought you were staying in this house," said Hank.

"I told Tyler already that I'm not going to stay here forever. I need a life of my own."

"Have you told him yet?" asked Caitie.

"He's not even here, and I can't find the right time to tell him.

"Well, Val, you're timing couldn't be more perfect," said someone the four knew all too well.

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Chapter 12 is coming soon! I'm sick right now and should be sleeping instead of writing. I'll be back ~ Scarlet182


	12. It's for the Best

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic, except the ones that you don't recognize. Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth own them all.

**__**

Realization of Fate

It's For the Best

They all turned simultaneously to see Tyler standing right in front of them. In an instant, all seemed to have forgotten what had been said a few seconds earlier.

"Tyler!" cried Hank as he stood up from the stool he was sitting on and motioned him to come in. "You should really stop making this a habit. It's not healthy."

"What's not healthy?"

"You keep keeping us in the dark. First, you just drive off without giving us any indication or clue about where you're going. Second, you don't call after you've been gone for a week. I mean, the least you could have done is call Val and ask about your daughter."

Tyler slightly turned his head to meet Val's gaze. By the look in his eyes, Val could tell that he was trying to apologize to her. The moment only lasted a second before Tyler's face turned into an annoyed and irritated expression.

"Hank, you're not my parent. Please stop telling me what to do."

"All right, fine, I won't, but you can't just show up out of nowhere and expect everything to be fine."

"I'm sorry about what happened, and I'm sorry about the way that I acted. I know it was selfish and irrational of me, but given the circumstances, it was the only way that I could think of on dealing with that happened."

"You still have some explaining to do," Jamie said. "We were really worried."

"It was nothing," Tyler said as he continued to focus his eyes on the floor. "It's over now. It's history."

"History?" said Caitie. "Your engagement was only broken a week ago."

Tyler raised his head when he heard what Caitie just said.

"What did you say?" he asked.

"Tyler, we know what happened with you and Andrea," said Val. "We're really sorry."

"How do you know what happened?" he asked with anger. "I didn't even tell you."

"It was on the news earlier tonight," Hank said. "Thanks for telling us."

"Oh, the news told you the whole story. Tell me, did they make up some twisted story about how we broke up? Did they all point their fingers at me? Was it assumed that it was all my fault as opposed to Andrea?"

"Hey, chill out," Jamie said. "All Hank is saying is that you should have told us first."

"And all I'm saying is that it's my business, and it's really not something that I needed or wanted to discuss with anybody."

"Okay, we understand," said Val. "The news didn't even do such a thing. We just saw the portion of you small interview and some of Andrea's."

"And what did she say? Did she say that it was my fault?"

"No, she didn't, but from what I saw, she seemed to have taken this whole ordeal lightly," said Caitie. "She looked like she was in could nine compared to you."

Tyler put his hands on his hips and gave a small, inauthentic chuckle.

"Why am I not surprised?" he said quietly. "Well, that's done now. It's over. Once again, I've outdone myself as the most pathetic loser on the face of the Earth."

"I've got to hand it to you, Tyler," Hank exclaimed. "You took the words right out of my mouth."

"Thank you, Hank, for your kind remarks. Seriously, why couldn't I be more like her? She just went on with her life. She probably didn't even shed a tear."

"You should be glad you're not like her," said Caitie. "I'll beat the living hell out of you."

"You really hate her that much?" asked Tyler. "I thought you liked her."

"**_Loathe_** would be a more appropriate term," Caitie said. "Honestly, I never liked her in the first place. I still don't see what you saw in her. No offense or anything."

"None taken," Tyler said before changing the topic. "So, why is everybody in my house?"

"We were just having a party while you were away," Jamie said. "This place is so much fun without the boring one in the group."

"I'm glad my wallowing in sorrow entertained all of you. Where are the kids?"

"They're in the playroom," said Val. "Why don't you go in and surprise them? I'm sure they all missed you."

Tyler just nodded before leaving them to see the kids.

"So, what do you think really happened?" asked Jamie.

"Right now, I don't know, and I don't care," Caitie replied. "As long as she's gone, I'm happy as a clam."

"Amen to that," said Hank. "What do you think, Val?"

"No comment."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tyler peeked in the room to see Alyssa and Malcolm playing by themselves. Kyle and Chrissy were both asleep on opposite sides of the room. Tyler went down on his knees and crept into the room.

"Guess who's back?" he said quietly.

Alyssa recognized his voice and turned towards him almost immediately before running into his arms.

"Daddy!" Alyssa cried as she hugged him around his neck. 

"Hey sweetheart!" Tyler said while giving her a kiss on her forehead. "Did you miss me?"

Alyssa nodded and could not seem to stop smiling.

"What were you two playing?"

"We play catch with the ball."

Tyler smiled and motioned Malcolm to come over.

"How are you, big fella?

"I'm fine."

"What happened to Kyle and Chrissy?"

"They're sleeping."

"I see. Why don't you call your dad and Aunt and Uncle Jamie? It's getting late."

"Okay."

Malcolm left the room, while Alyssa resumed bouncing the ball against the floor. The rest of the adults came in the room a few seconds later.

"Well, Kyle and Chrissy are both knocked out," Jamie said. "We better get going. It's past their bedtime already."

"You guys are not staying in the house?" asked Tyler.

"Maybe some other time. I have some documents I need to finish by tomorrow afternoon."

"Same here," Caitie said. "I have some clients coming in the morning as well. Are you coming to work tomorrow?"

"I'll probably take tomorrow off. It's been a long week. Don't hesitate to call me if anything comes up."

"Okay. I could always come to Robbie if I need anything. In that way, I don't have to bother you."

"He's still in the firm?"

"Why wouldn't he be?"

"Nothing," Tyler said. "I just heard some stuff. That's all."

"Well, we're ready," Jamie said with both kids on his arms. "Can I get a little help here?"

Val offered and took Chrissy away from him. Caitie and Jamie said their good byes, and Val walked with them to their car.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Hank asked as he got all of Malcolm's stuff ready.

"I'm fine."

"Whatever you say. I'll see you some time this week. Take it easy."

"I'll try."

"Look at the bright side. At least you were rejected after the proposal instead of before."

"Did you really have to bring that up?"

"Jamie and I were just talking about it."

"Just don't bring it up again, okay? After what happened, I really don't want to relive that entire emotional trauma. The situation right now is bad as it is."

"I promise I won't," Hank told him. "I'm going to go now. I have a long day tomorrow."

Val came in the room in that instant.

"You're leaving?" she said.

"I have to go to work early tomorrow. Unlike you, Tyler, I don't get to make and bend the rules."

"Well, what time are you picking me up?" asked Val.

"What for?" Tyler asked.

"She works with me now, remember?"

"What about Alyssa?" Tyler asked once again. "What about the baby? Is it all right?"

"Can you keep an eye on her for me?" asked Val. "She really missed you, and I'm getting tired of being stuck in this house. As for the baby, it's fine. Everything is fine."

"I'll take care of her. I'm sorry for keeping you here."

"Tyler, you can only apologize so much. I understand."

Val stopped the conversation and went over to Alyssa, who was already falling asleep.

"I'll walk Hank out of the door. Why don't you get Aly ready for bed?"

"I will. I'll see you in the morning, Hank."

"Good night, Val. I'll come around 7 am."

"That'll be great."

Val proceeded upstairs while the guys headed for the door.

"It's good to have you back."

"Thanks."

"Next time you plan going west to California or wherever, tell me and we'll make it a road trip."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Feel better."

"I'm trying."

"You deserve someone better. She wasn't worth it anyway. I'm sure you'll find someone else."

"When?"

"Time will tell. I better go. Bye."

"Bye, Hank!"

After Hank drove off, Tyler went back inside and sat on one of the first steps on the stairs. He looked at the opposite wall and saw a picture of Andrea and himself. As much as he tried to convince himself that she wasn't worth it, he still felt like a failure. He figured that most guys would probably be happy with his situation. The chance to be single again is what most men dream to have. He wasn't like all of them. He was one of those people who needed to be with someone. One of those people who wants to have a commitment. In a way, he had a commitment to Val because they have a child together. Beyond that, that's basically what they have. Marriage was the answer to his problems. Being with Andrea was the closest thing to walking down the aisle. As usual, history repeated itself once again. Somehow, he managed to mess things up. At least that's what he thinks.

"A penny for your thoughts?" 

"I thought you went to bed already," Tyler said as he moved over to give her some room to sit.

"The playroom is still a mess."

"Don't worry about it. Alyssa will still mess it up again anyway."

Tyler sighed, and Val noticed that his mind was on something else.

"Like father like daughter."

"Tyler, you really need to stop feeling sorry or blaming yourself."

"Do you think it's my fault?"

"You know what? I don't really know. You haven't even said a word about what went on before you left. How can you expect me to answer that?"

"You should go to sleep. You have to get up early tomorrow."

"Tyler, you can talk to me. I know it's hard for you, but it's better than keeping it all inside." 

"I'll just stay here a while longer," he said, completely oblivious to what she said.

"I don't know what happened between you and Andrea. I can see that I really hurt you a lot. I'm sorry about what happened. We've been through a lot together, and I really want to help you. Now, I can't do it unless you…"

"She slept with Robbie," Tyler said before Val could finish her speech.

"What?"

"She cheated on me with my best friend," Tyler repeated. "Well, he's not my best friend anymore."

"Tyler, I'm really sorry. How did this happened?"

"I think the question is how long has this been happening."

"You mean it wasn't a one night stand?" Val paused. "Wait, of course it wasn't. You're a rational and forgiving person. I'm sure a night with him won't force you to break things off with her. Am I right?"

"You know, Val, this really isn't helping."

"I'm sorry. How did you find out? Did your secretary tell you? Oh, you barged in on them, didn't you?"

"This is not working."

"I'm sorry. I should stop talking, but before I do, answer me this. Why do you blame yourself for all of this?"

"I don't know. I guess I must have done something to cause her to do such a thing."

"You don't control her actions. You know that."

"But what other reason could it possibly be?"

"Maybe she didn't really love you."

"She told me that she loved me," Tyler cried. "She said she loved me."

"Saying something is one thing. Showing it is another. Just because someone says something does not mean that he or she means it."

"I thought we were in love. I thought that I loved her, and she loved me."

"Would you listen to yourself? You just said that you **_thought_** you were in love… That you **_thought_** that you loved her and that she loved you."

"And what is your point?"

"Listen to me. Maybe, subconsciously, you didn't love her as much as you claim."

"I proposed to her, didn't I?"

"Is that really the reason why you did it?"

"What other reason is there?" Tyler said as his emotions started to rise. "I want to be married. I want to have a wife. Andrea was there."

"Marriage is about love, Tyler. You don't just pick the nearest person in your grasp and expect that it will turn out right."

"Who are you to tell me this? Look at you and Seth."

"Tyler, you're way out of line."

"I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have said that. It's just that I can't seem to get things right. I'm sick of being alone. I know that a lot of guys who are happy being in the same situation as I man, but I'm not."

"Well, if it's not meant to be, then it's not meant to be. Fate has a plan for everybody. As a mere human, all you can afford to do is wait and not give up hope. And the last thing you need is to force yourself to love somebody. You'll only end up in misery if you do."

Tyler looked at her and started to protest once again before he decided to give up and be honest with himself.

"Maybe you're right."

"I know I'm right."

"Correction," he smiled. "You're right. I guess I knew all along that it wouldn't last. My own desire for, I don't know, eternal happiness blinded my own judgment. It's just that I've been waiting for that someone all my life, you know, and I can't seem to find her."

"And you thought that that someone was Andrea?"

"I made myself think. At the beginning, we did have a share of our good times. I guess I can call it that. I mean, we were together for a year or so. Maybe three. I can't even remember. It all changed somehow, but I refused to see it. Everything is fine. That's what I kept telling myself. I must be some darn, good lawyer to convince myself that nonsense."

"Do you really believe that she loved you?"

"Maybe. I don't know anymore. Money changes people, doesn't it?"

"You didn't change."

"Perhaps, but it changed Andrea. I guess she was after all my money after all. I can just imagine it in the headlines. **LAW TYCOON TYLER CONNELL DIED OF PECULIAR MEANS THIRTEEN DAYS AFTER HIS WEDDING TO MODEL ANDREA BURBANK… now the world's richest widow.**"

"That would be something," Val said with a small laugh. "Why would you say that she was after your money?"

"I think that it's only customary for a woman to return the engagement ring to her ex-fiancé after they broke off their wedding. Considering that she didn't return it, and it was worth a fortune, I think I'm justified to say so."

"It's probably for the best."

"Maybe."

"I better go upstairs."

"Wait, before you leave, um, are you really moving out of the house?"

"Yes, we are."

"Is there anything I can do to change your mind?"

"I already made my decision, and I'm going to stick with it."

"Misery loves company."

"It does, but I need to have this for myself and not for misery."

"For what it's worth, I think it's for the best."

"You do?"

"I don't like the idea of being away from Alyssa, but after these recent fiasco, I think it would be in everyone's best interest, especially me, to have a little room and some space for their own."

"Well, Alyssa can still come and visit, and you can visit us any time you want. Wait, any time after my permission."

"When are you leaving?"

"In a few days."

"This is a lot of change for a week."

"You can never predict what will happen next."

"Well, I predict that no pictures of Andrea will be present in the house as of tomorrow."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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That was a longer chapter than usual. I hope you liked it. Please review! …If you want : ) I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


	13. A Recipe for WWIII

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic, except the ones that you don't recognize. Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth own them all.

Note: The Italics are mostly someone's thoughts.

**__**

Realization of Fate

A Recipe for WWIII

It was a nice day, despite the fact that it was early Monday morning. It was only a quarter till 6:00 when Val decided to get a head start on the day ahead. She looked outside the window, taking delight at the beautiful sunrise as it cast different shades of orange, red, blue, and purple across the sky. It was not the first time that she witnessed such a gorgeous display, but it was the first time that she stopped and appreciated it in a long time. 

__

I can't really explain what it was about that day that seemed… Well… Perfect. If you're thinking that it was because Tyler and Andrea broke up… Maybe… But that's not it. Was it because I'm about to start on a new job? First days are always the most exciting ones. That's still not it though. What is it about the sunrise? Is it signifying a new beginning? For me? I can't really explain it. All I know is that everything was going to change.

Val was broken away from her trance when she heard a muffled laugh coming from somewhere. She was almost sure that it was Alyssa, but knowing how big the house is, she couldn't be a hundred percent sure. She will eventually go downstairs anyway, so she grabbed her robe and decided to check where the noise came from. She discovered that she was right. It was Alyssa. 

"Good morning, Mommy," Alyssa said with a great, big smile. "I had _bwekfast_."

"How did you get down here?" asked Val with a little concern. "And why are you awake? You should still be in bed."

"I'm not sleepy," she said as she took a bite from her plate.

"Who came with you here?"

"Daddy did," she smiled once again. "He made me these."

Alyssa tried to lift her plate before Val helped her out. Apparently, Tyler made some pancakes in different shapes. How he managed to make these was a mystery to her.

"Where's your dad?" 

"Shhh," Alyssa said as she pointed towards the kitchen counter. "Daddy's sleeping."

Val smiled when she saw him with his head down on the counter. He was sitting on a stool which was almost about to fall if not for a single movement or two. She woke him up without thinking of the consequences.

"Tyler! Wake up!"

Val really wasn't thinking about what she was doing, because the immediate result of her **wake up call** only ended in disaster. Within the following two or three seconds, Tyler was sent crashing down the floor, now fully awake and fully aware that he was not dreaming anymore. 

"Tyler! Are you okay?" asked Val as she approached him.

His back hit the floor first, and just before he could reply and thought that everything was going to be fine, the stool had a different agenda in mind. The target… Right down the middle of his ribs.

"I'm fine," he said in the midst of pain. "Good morning."

"I'm so sorry," she apologized while trying to stifle her laugh. "I didn't mean to startle you like that. I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to wake you up."

"You woke me up, alright," he replied lightheartedly, but the pain was still evident in his voice and on his face. "It was probably the most effective wake up call I've ever had."

"Did you break anything?"

"Not yet," he said while keeping one hand on his ribs. "That stool is going to pay though."

Tyler found his way to the table and faced a frightened little girl in front of him.

"Are you hurt?" she said in a terrified tone as though her very words are going to hurt him.

"I'm fine, honey. Why don't you eat your food now? Okay? It will help you get better and stronger and healthy."

Alyssa looked at him with a questioning look. Tyler had no idea whether she understood him or not, but he assumed that she did. Before he could say anything, Alyssa took some pieces of her pancake on her fork and tried to feed Tyler instead. Not wanting to disappoint her, Tyler took a bite. To his surprise, they turned out pretty good.

"Are you better?" she asked.

"Yea," he smiled and leaned over to give her a kiss on the head. "Much better."

"One more?" she asked as she tried to give him another piece.

"One more," he said before taking his second bite.

Alyssa displayed another smile on her face before finishing off her plate. Val, on the other hand, stood back and watched the two interact with each other. 

__

There's just something about him. I really don't know how to describe it. Was he always like this? Cute… Caring… Funny… Loving… He loves my daughter… **Our** daughter so much. What was Seth like? He used to be different, but now he's just, I don't know… Bitter… Indifferent… Somber… Cold… He though Alyssa was a nuisance. Did I miss something here? Well, it doesn't really matter anyway. We're only friends now… Nothing more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a sleepless night and an early body beating, thanks to Val, Tyler was feeling a lot better. For half the night, he spent his time going around the house to get rid of anything that had **Andrea** written all over it. For the other part of the night, he was waking up every half-hour until Alyssa finally woke him up for good, at least for the time being. However, there was still one thing that he had to do. Leaving Alyssa with one of the maids, he ran downstairs, hoping to catch Val.

"Wait!" Tyler said as he opened the front door. "Don't leave yet!"

"What's the rush? I'm not going anywhere for another five minutes."

"I… I… Hold on. I need to catch my breath."

"I'll hold. Is it important?"

"I just wanted to say thanks."

"For what? I don't remember doing you any favors."

"For talking some sense into me last night. I know that I opted not to talk about it, but I'm glad that I did. It really helped me a lot. I think I'm ready to move on now."

"Okay, well, you're welcome. What are friends for?"

"Best friends," he corrected. "Hank's here."

Tyler waved as Hank parked his car in the driveway.

"Are you ready Val?" he asked. "Hey Tyler!"

"Hi Hank!"

"I'm ready," she said. "I better go. Alyssa needs to be at school no later than nine o'clock, but most of the time, it's better that you get there a quarter before nine."

"I got it. Good luck at work."

"Thanks. I'll be needing it."

"Val!" cried Hank. "Come on!"

"You better go now. _Impatient Hank_ is not fun."

"I'll see you later."

"Later," he said as he watched them go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tyler and Alyssa arrived at her around eight forty-five. Without waiting a second, Tyler carried Alyssa in his arms and headed for her classroom. As they approached the room, Tyler felt a few pairs of eyes on him. He surely was not a celebrity, but Kingsport was a small town, and everyone practically knew who he was, even before he became a big time lawyer. Being engaged to Andrea Burbank added a little bit to his fame. Of course, being Andrea's former fiancé was another story.

"Good morning," Tyler greeted the woman whom he assumed as Alyssa's teacher. "I'm Tyler Connell. How are you today?"

"I'm fine," the teacher answered nervously as she helped Alyssa into the classroom. "I'm Liz Carroll. I'm Alyssa's teacher. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"No, I'm fine. What time should I pick Alyssa up?"

"Her classes end around three, but you can pick her up any time you want."

"I'll see you at three."

"It was nice to finally meet you in person. I've heard so much about you."

"I'm sure you have. Okay, I'm going now."

"Before you go, I just want to say that there are many fishes in the sea."

"Thanks, I think."

"Are you sure you're okay? I can talk if you like. I also majored in psychology in college."

"Have a nice day, Ms. Carroll," Tyler said before quickly departing. 

As Tyler walked back through the hallway, he noticed the same pairs of eyes on him again. He concluded that they were all mothers just waiting for the class to begin. He would have chosen to stay, but being around all these women made him anxious and hope that Val was there instead of him. There was no question as to why they were staring at him. Even the teacher was acting strange. It was beyond him how his business and his own life was any concern to people that he hardly even knew or whom he had just met. 

"Are you new around here?"

Tyler turned around to see a guy who was about his age, more or less.

"Not really. I'm just dropping my daughter to her class."

"Oh, you don't work here?"

"No, I don't. I'm actually a lawyer. Why? Do you work here?"

"Actually, I'm the resident doctor."

"Really? You look so…"

"Young?"

"That's the word."

"I get that a lot. Everyone seems to expect some old guy."

"How old are you, anyway?"

"I'm twenty-seven. How about you? Thirty plus?"

"Twenty-eight, thank you very much. I'm not in the thirty zone yet."

"You're quite young to be married. How old is your daughter?"

"I'm not married. And Alyssa is four."

"A single parent?"

"Not really."

"Wait, so let me get this straight. You have a four year old daughter, you're twenty-eight, you're not married, and you're a lawyer."

"That about sums it up."

"Wait a minute. You look vaguely familiar. No, you're not him, then, maybe you are. You don't happen to be Tyler Connell by any chance, are you?"

"The one and only."

"I knew I read about you somewhere. It was probably one of those magazines that lists the top bachelors of the country."

"May I ask how you came across to reading that article?"

"Certainly not for leisure," he laughed. "Aside from my job here, I'm also the assistant director at my other job. In case you're wondering, the head is a woman and all the reading articles in her office are, of course, what women want to read. I just came from there actually."

"How are you getting along with this… Woman?" asked Tyler.

"Man, she gets on my case every time. She gets on my nerves a lot, if you know what I mean. I'm only the assistant director, and for the most part, I really don't do much, but she keeps making me work and work and work. I think she hates me. She's making my life a living hell."

Tyler tried not to laugh. It was obvious that this guy liked this girl somehow. At least, that's what he assumed.

"And you know what bugs me? She's three years younger than I am. She's probably the youngest head ever. They say that she's supposedly really talented, but I'm guessing that she just has the right connections, if you know what I mean."

"Why would you say that?"

"Get this. She worked at the place since she was young. Her old boss probably recommended her."

"May I ask who this person is?"

"Let's just say that she's the **bitch on heels **in my vocabulary. Kind of like what Mel Gibson called Helen Hunt in that movie. Women wanting something or whatever"

"I didn't catch your name."

"David Collins."

"If I didn't know any better, Collins, I'd say that you have a crush on this woman."

"When hell freezes over," he laughed. "If you put the two of us in a room together, then you'll have World War III. I'm telling you again, she really has it in for me. One time, I was just sitting there because she said that we had something to discuss, and then she made a comment about how I was being rude, because I didn't say anything. I mean, come on, what am I supposed to say? She was the one who called me. If I say something, she yells at me. If I don't say something, I thought she wouldn't scream at me again. Well, guess what? She did yell at me."

"And what do you do about it?"

"I'm not just going to stand up there and do nothing. The logical thing to do would be to fight back. I have pride too, you know. Anyway, that's basically what we do the whole time."

"You two sound like you're a married couple or something."

"My worst nightmare," he laughed. "I better go."

Tyler watched him with an amused look on his face.

"Now that's what I call a love-hate relationship, although the love is certainly not there yet."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tyler left the school and decided to go to the station and pay Brooke a visit. As he neared the place, old memories started coming back. He lived fairly close to the place, but it was the first time in months that he actually drove down to pay a visit. As he parked his car, he saw Brooke come out of the building with anger all over her face. Tyler kept his windows up to avoid recognition, but he kept his guard up to see what was happening.

"Where the heck did Collins go?" she asked the girl right behind her. "He left again before telling me. Ugh, I hate his guts. He's the most stubborn, obnoxious guy that I've ever met."

Tyler stepped out of the car when Brooke was out of sight. He can already predict that he picked a bad time to visit. _'I wonder what that was all about.'_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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That's it for now. You're probably wondering what David has got to do with anything, but he'll be around in future chapters. He'll be am important factor in the story later on. I hope you liked it. I'll be back! ~ Scalret182 


	14. A Taste of Your Own Medicine

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic, except the ones that you don't recognize. Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth own them all.

Author's Note: I'm sorry it took long for this chapter. Thanks for still reading : )

**__**

Realization of Fate

A Taste of Your Own Medicine

Tyler took in the familiar feeling that overcame him as he walked through the halls of the EMS station. A few EMTs greeted him while others only stared. Some of these youngsters obviously knew who he is, whether it was because of the news or of his past work in the place. A young girl approached him.

"Can I help you, sir?" she asked as she tapped his back.

"Hey Angela!" Tyler greeted the girl. "How have you been?"

"I'm fine, Mr. Connell," she smiled. "I haven't seen you around here for a while now."

"I've been busy. Is Brooke available right now?"

"Yea, but she's kind of pissed off right now."

"I noticed. I was in my car, and I got the impression that she was angry. What happened?"

"It's a long story. She's in her office right now. Maybe you can calm her down."

"I'll try. Thanks Angela."

"You're welcome."

Tyler watched her leave before headed to Brooke's office, formerly occupied by the infamous Alex Freeman. He knocked three times.

"What's wrong now?" Brooke said as she continued to go through the papers on her table. "This better be important."

"Hey Shorty! Did I catch you at a bad time?"

"You did, but you can stay for a while. What brings you here?"

"I just wanted to pay you a visit."

"Well, you're timing couldn't be more perfect," Brooke said. "How are you anyway? I just found out that you returned yesterday."

"I'm feeling better," Tyler replied. "I had a talk with Val last night. It really helped."

"Really? Val talked some sense into you?"

"As hard as it is for you to believe, yes she did," Tyler said. "Why do you sound so surprised? Your sister is great."

"Well, I have no doubt of my sister's abilities," she said while going through her pile again.

"Then what are you surprised about?"

"How she got through a dreadfully stubborn guy like you," Brooke smiled as she looked up at him. "Even I couldn't do it for the last three years, and I'm the persistent one."

"You sure are," Tyler laughed, "So, may I ask what you're upset about?"

"It's a guy thing."

"What's new?" Tyler asked. "It seems like everyone nowadays is having trouble with the opposite sex. Who's this guy anyway?"

"No one special," Brooke said. "He just gets on my nerves a lot. I don't know why, but he's very good at pushing my buttons. I bet he does it on purpose, too. He finds it so entertaining to see me squirm."

"It looks like somebody has a crush on little Miss Brooke," Tyler laughed. "Why else would he do what he does?"

"Why would guys do what they do in general?" Brooke fired back. "Men! What a bunch of rotten jerks and stupid idiots."

"You can't live with them, and you can't live without them," Tyler said in triumph. "It's the whole truth."

"Then why am I not dead already?" 

"Brooke, you're still the same sarcastic teenager that you were back in the days. And to answer your question, it's because you still have your guy."

"Thanks," Brooke said. "And for your information, he is **not** my guy."

"Whatever you say," Tyler said as he helped himself with the newspaper on the desk.

Brooke started at him before an idea popped into her head.

"Hey Tyler, are you busy Friday night?"

Tyler put down the paper and looked at Brooke suspiciously.

"It depends," Tyler said. "What's going on in that scheming mind of yours?"

"I have this friend," Brooke started. "She's really nice and cute. She's single. She just broke things off with her boyfriend a couple of weeks ago."

"This better not be another one of your blind dates," Tyler stood up. "I'm not going there again."

"Come on, Tyler, she's not a bad person. She's terrific."

"That's what you said the last time and the last two times before that."

"Oh, they weren't that bad," Brooke said. "You're just too picky."

"Oh, really, well, why don't we have a recap? First, there was _Energizer Bonnie_. All she did was talk talk talk talk talk until I was literally bored to death. I was ready to crash the car, and we didn't even get to the restaurant yet. It was a monologue even Shakespeare couldn't begin to follow. Second, there was _Nina the Elder-lover._ I think she was the one that I took to a company party. At some point during that evening, she ended up arguing with William of all people. They were at it for two hours about who knows what. Later, I found out that she likes my stepfather and thought that he was, **_"sexy as hell."_** He happened to be more than twice her age. Last but not least, _Terri the third-person freak_. How can I forget what was probably the most maddening and irritating date of my life? When we got to the movies she asked, **_"Does Tyler want popcorn? Terri wants some popcorn. Can Tyler buy Terri some? Terri can't start the movies without her popcorn. Can Tyler get Terri some soda as well?"_** I mean, come on, can you be anymore of a freak? It's not cute, and it's just not right."

"Okay, so there were bad dates," Brooke said.

"Bad dates?" Tyler asked.

"Okay, they were terrible dates. I'm sorry for putting you through all of that."

"How can you be so sure if this new girl won't be exactly like the last three that you set me up with?"

"I'm sure because I know her pretty well. Definitely better than I knew those other weirdoes."

"Brooke, I don't think that this would be such a good idea."

"Why not?"

"You just told me that she broke up with her boyfriend not too long ago. What are we supposed to do? Rebound off each other?"

"Tyler, this isn't a commitment or anything. I just want you to get out of that big house of yours once and a while instead of mope around doing nothing. And don't use my niece as an excuse."

"Why are you pushing this so much?"

"I just want you to have fun. I know you were with Andrea for some time, but it certainly wasn't a thrill ride."

"I don't want to play the field and go out with every other woman that I see."

"That's not what I meant. I'm just saying that you try this one step at a time and see how it works out."

"I don't think so," Tyler said.

"At least think about it. I'm not accepting no for an answer."

"I'll think about it," Tyler smiled.

"Great! Give me a call by Wednesday."

"What's her name?"

"Dana Collins. By the way, her brother is the jerk that I've been talking about. It amazes me how two people from the same womb can be so different."

"Dana Collins… Have I met her before?"

"I don't think so. Why?"

"It's nothing. I better go. I'll give you a call later."

"I'm counting on it."

"One more question. How old is she?"

"She's about my age, but I think you two will do just fine."

"I'll be the judge of that," he smiled. "Goodbye Brooke."

"See you, Tyler."

Tyler walked once again through the familiar hallways as he stepped outside the building. He was still contemplating about the name of the girl.

"Dana Collins? Where have I heard that name before?"

"Did you say something, Mr. Connell?" asked Angela, who was heading towards the opposite direction.

"Do you know anybody by the name of Dana Collins?"

"She's Ms. Lanier's best friend."

"Does she work here?"

"No, but she's in charge of the station duties at the main office."

"Is that all?"

"That's about it, although her brother David is the assistant director of the place."

"I see, well, thanks for your help Angela."

"Anytime," she smiled.

Tyler went inside his car and gave a lighthearted laugh.

"I can't believe he was talking about her, and she was talking about him. This made my day."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tyler drove around the town to pass some time before he had to pick up Alyssa. Besides stopping for lunch at a local diner, he literally spent the day sitting down. He probably stopped at a gas station twice to get his tank refilled. While driving, he started contemplating on how to set up the two _lovebirds_ for one unforgettable night. At least one night **he** won't forget. Tyler arrived at Alyssa's school thirty minutes early to catch David before he left. To his luck, David just left his office.

"It's you again," David said. "We have to stop meeting like this."

"How was work?"

"Nothing interesting, although one teacher came in with a broken nose."

"What happened?"

"He went over this kid, asked him to close his eyes, instructed him to think of something that he always wanted to do, and told him to do it. The next thing he knew, the kid punched him in the face."

"That had to hurt. It happened to a friend of mine once. He was overseeing this little girl in the playground, and she gave him a black eye."

"That story sounds familiar. I had a friend who had the same thing happen to him."

"Really? Who?"

"Jamie Waite."

"He's the one I'm talking about. He's still a close friend of mine. How did you know him?"

"I'm a member of the ACEP organization. We have different committees, and Jamie and I were both in the committee for Virginia. Small world, huh?"

"Very," Tyler said. "Hey, David, you're single, right?"

"The last time I checked. Why?"

"Are you free Friday night?"

"Are you asking me out or something?" he looked at him skeptically but with humor.

"Far from," Tyler laughed. "You see, I have a friend that I think would likely be interested in you."

"You're setting me up on a blind date?"

"If you're interested, then yes I am. She's setting me up on one as well. I wanted to return the favor."

"I don't know why, but I trust you. I guess I'm in."

"Great! And thanks for trusting me."

"Actually, it's not really that. I'm desperate. I haven't been out for too long."

"How long?"

"A week or so."

"That's it? I thought it was like a month or something. Maybe a year."

"That would be the day," he laughed. "Women can't resist my charm."

"Except one," Tyler said quietly.

"Did you say something?"

"No, nothing. Can I have your number in case there's a change of plans?"

"Here," he said as he took out a business card from his wallet. "My phone, fax, office, and cell numbers are on there."

Tyler took it and gave David one of his own.

"It has everything that you just said," Tyler told him. "I guess I'll see you around."

"See you, Connell."

Tyler smiled and headed for Alyssa's classroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Val arrived around seven, the table was already set for dinner. It wasn't even fancy at all. Tyler just bought two boxes of pizza and some soda. Before long, it was already nine o'clock. Val put Alyssa into bed, finished some packing, and later put herself to sleep. Tyler, on the hand, went into his office and proceeded to dial Brooke's number.

"Brooke here," she answered. "This better be important."

"It's Tyler."

"Oh, I wasn't expecting a call this soon. Are you on for the date?"

"Not yet."

"Then why did you call?"

"I have a proposition to make. If you set me up on this date, then I get to set you up on one."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Well, if you don't want to, then I guess I won't be meeting Dana after all."

"Wait, if I say yes, then you would you go?"

"Are you saying yes then?"

"Is he decent?" asked and rather annoyed that he never answered her question.

"He seems like a nice guy. He's polite. He's funny."

"What's his name?"

"How about if I keep it a secret? You know, surprise you. It would be fun."

"How come I can't know?"

"It's the least you could do for all those blind dates that almost blinded me from the past."

"Fine, you win. I guess were set for Friday night."

"I guess we are. I'll see you then Brooke. Good night."

"You too," Brooke said. "He better not be a jerk."

"Trust me, Shorty. It will be a night you'll never forget.

"I'm sure," she said sarcastically as she hung up the phone.

Tyler leaned on his chair and put his hands behind his head. He later flashed a triumphant smile.

"Well well well, I think it's about time that you get a taste of your own medicine."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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I hope you liked it! I had fun writing it! I'm sorry for the really long delay. Please review. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


	15. Jealousy is Not the Right Word

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic, except the ones that you don't recognize. Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth own them all. I also don't own any place or location that you might recognize.

Author's Note: I'm sorry it took long for this chapter, as usual :(

**__**

Realization of Fate

Jealousy is Not the Right Word

After a couple of days at work, Tyler took a break and stayed at home. For the most part, he sat in his office and planned the big day on Friday. He only had two days left to make everything perfect. He set up a reservation for six o'clock at some ritzy French restaurant, _La Maison et le Jardin_. He already informed David, who wasn't too thrilled about having to wear a coat and a tie. Now all he had to do was tell Brooke. He quickly picked up his phone and called her from work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since earlier that morning, Brooke had been nothing but relaxed. They already received a minimum of ten calls, which was unordinary for a Wednesday. In addition to her problems, she had been asked to stay in the station on Friday night. Since she couldn't make it on Friday, she has to find someone to take her place. The only problem is finding the right someone. At the moment, all she could think about is how her problems are all Tyler's fault for his silly idea of a double blind date.

"Hello, this is Brooke Lanier. How may I help you?"

"It's Tyler. I have some information regarding the date on Friday."

"This is all your fault!"

"What did I do?"

"If you hadn't set me up on this date, I wouldn't be in this mess."

"What's wrong now?"

"Everything's wrong. Now I have to find a replacement for Friday. My boss is going to kill me for skipping out of my job."

"Brooke, this isn't high school anymore. Get over it!"

"Easy for you to say," she fired back. "You own your own damn company."

"Look, if you can't come, then we'll just call the whole thing off."

"Not so fast. I'm going to find a replacement, and you will go through with this, even if it means that I have to go through with it as well."

"If that's the case, then I made reservations at that French restaurant down Hartford Road in Belmont Springs."

"_La Maison et le Jardin_?"

"I think that's the name."

"But that restaurant is way too expensive."

"I'll pay for everything."

"You can't do that. It's too much."

"Hey, I don't get to do this much often. Besides, this is a big event."

"What are you up to?"

"Nothing."

"I thought you didn't want to go on this date in the first place."

"I had a change of heart. So, I'll see you two there?"

"We'll be there. Now, I have to get off the phone. I need to talk to someone."

"Until Friday then."

"Whatever."

Brooke put down the phone and immediately stood up to catch up to somebody.

"Collins! I need you in my office."

"Me?" asked David. "That's the first."

"Just get in here!"

David turned and headed towards Brooke's room.

"What's up?" he asked as he sat down. "What did I do now?"

"Are you free Friday night?"

"That depends, Lanier," he smiled. "What do you have in mind?"

"If you're thinking that I'm asking you out, then you're wrong."

"I never thought of that," he said innocently. "What about Friday?"

"I need someone to fill in for me."

"I wish I could, but I can't," he said, faking disappointment. "I have a date."

"You have a date?"

"Don't look too shocked."

"What was I thinking asking you anyway?" Brooke said. "Of course you'll be out with another woman, again. Well, you're free to go."

"Why couldn't you stay Friday night?" he asked before going on to tease her. "It's not like you're doing anything."

"Hey, I have a social life."

"You sure don't act like it," he said. "I don't mean this as an insult or anything, but you should get out more."

"And what? Do what you do and ask out the next thing that moves?"

"That's not what I'm talking about, and I don't do that!"

"Right, and for your information, I have a date this Friday night."

"Well, good luck to him," he said as he stepped out of the door.

"You only wish it was you."

"Over my dead body."

"Oh, I _wish_ it was," Brooke said before slamming the door.

David looked around to see a few EMTs looking at him for an answer as to what had just happen.

"PMS," he said before leaving.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Val was working on getting her belongings together for the move. In just a few moments, she will be living in her own house and not depend on her parents, Seth, and even Tyler. Unfortunately, everything was out of order, and she figured that there was no way that she could finish packing and move that same day. When Val took a break, she went downstairs to look for Tyler, but she found herself listening in outside his office. She wasn't the kind of person that would jump to conclusions, but from what she was able to hear, it appeared that Tyler and Brooke are going on a date.

"A date?" she asked herself.

Suddenly, she felt angry, jealous, and confused all at the same time.

"Val, is that you?"

"Um, yeah, I was just coming down to get a drink," she lied between her teeth.

"Do you need me for anything?" he asked as he appeared from the door. "You're not handling any heavy objects up there, are you?"

"No, I'm not."

"Well, okay, I'll be up there in a minute if you need any help."

"Um, can I ask you something? Actually, there's two."

"Go ahead. You can come in my office."

"Are you going out with Brooke on Friday?"

"Yep, we have a date Friday night," Tyler replied. "Why? Did you hear me all the way upstairs?"

"A little bit. I wasn't exactly sure about what I heard, not that I was listening in or anything. So, when did this happen?"

"When what happen?"

"You and Brooke together."

"Me and Brooke? There is no me and Brooke."

"Oh, you two aren't going out?" asked Val with relief.

"No, of course not. Brooke is like a little sister to me. She set me up on a blind date with this friend of hers, and in return, I set her up on a blind date as well with a friend of mine."

"A blind date?"

"I think that's what I said."

"That's really good. I hope you'll have a good time."

Val tried to make a quick exit, but Tyler stopped her with the power of five simple words.

"You're not jealous, are you?"

"What makes you say that? I never said I was jealous."

"Of course you didn't," Tyler said, giving her a smile. "I mean, why would you be jealous, right?"

"You're exactly right. There's absolutely no reason for me to be jealous whatsoever. That's just crazy."

"Don't worry, Val. You will always be number one in my book."

"Me?"

"Yea, you, and of course, Alyssa. We're family."

"Right."

"So, what was the other thing that you wanted to ask me about?"

"Well, I was trying to get everything ready for the move later today, but everything is such a mess, and I was hoping that maybe Alyssa and I can stay for a while."

"Val, you didn't have to ask. You can stay for as long as you like. I'll help you with everything. The move has to be pushed until next week though. I'm kind of busy for the rest of the week."

"I guess that'll be fine."

"Is there anything else?"

"Can I borrow your car?"

"What for?"

"I just had the sudden urge to pay Brooke a little visit. I haven't seen her in a while."

"I'll tell you what. I'll drop you off at the station while I stop by at the law firm."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Why don't we leave in fifteen or twenty minutes. I need to finish up a few things first."

"Thanks Connell," Val said, feeling a slight déjà vu by calling him by his last time.

"My pleasure, Lanier." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Brooke continued to work, a knock came from her door.

"Come in," she said. _'It better not be Collins again.'_

She looked up and saw Val in front of her.

"Val? What brings you here? Is anything wrong?"

"You set him up on a blind date?" she asked her incredulously.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me," she said before taking a seat. "You know what I'm talking about."

"If this is about Tyler, then yes, I set him up on a blind date. Why? Is there a problem?"

"What were you thinking?"

"What was I****thinking? There's nothing to think about. I've done this before."

"You've set him up before? Why?"

"Because he's single, and he desperately needs to get out more."

"I don't believe you!"

"Val, you're really freaking me out. What is wrong with you? It's just Tyler. What do you care?"

"I care a lot."

"What? You're not making any sense here. This is Tyler we're talking about. What if he's seeing someone else? I mean, come on, does it really bother you?"

"Yes, it bothers me," Val replied in frustration. "It bothers me more than I thought it would."

"Oh… You're not saying what I think you're saying, are you?"

"I don't know. This is so confusing. I don't even know why I came here in the first place."

"Do you like him? I mean, in the sense that you did back then."

"Yes… No… I don't know. I don't understand any of this right now."

"When did this happen?"

"It just happened. I don't really know when or how it happened, but it did."

"Val, I don't know what to say. Maybe this feeling isn't really there, you know. You're pregnant and all, and given the fact that you're around him all the time, I can see what this is happening."

"I guess you're right. I don't know. When I found out about this, I just got upset. Maybe I was just afraid of the thought of him abandoning Alyssa and I."

"You know what, all this stress is not good for the baby. You should just relax. Tyler's a good guy. He won't abandon you two."

"You're absolutely right. I'm just being irrational. Thanks Brooke. I really needed this talk."

"Anytime, sis. I'm glad I could help out. For a minute there, I thought you were falling in love with him again. That would have been something else."

"Yes, it would have been something," she sighed quietly. "Luckily, that wasn't the case. So Brooke, are you excited about your blind date?"

"Hey, as long as it's not David, then I'll be fine."

"Who's David?"

"Some guy that I work with. Nobody important. He's kind of cute, I guess, and he seems nice, but he's a class act jerk."

"Sound like the perfect guy," Val joked.

"In another planet," Brooke said. "Maybe."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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I hope you guys liked it! It took me a while, but things don't always work out as planned. I'll do my best to get this fic finished. I really want to write another one. IAHB forever! Thanks for reading. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182

P.S. - As for WEST SIDE STORY (NOEbY #5), I'll try to have the next part up as soon as possible : )


	16. A Blind Disaster

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic, except the ones that you don't recognize. Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth own them all. I also don't own any place or location that you might recognize.

**__**

Realization of Fate

A Blind Disaster

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La Maison et le Jardin is one of the most exquisite restaurants in the city. Usually, it takes at least a week ahead of schedule to reserve a table, but with Tyler's status, and the fact that he secretly owns a share of the place, an information unknown even by his closest friends, a simple phone call was all it took. He was ready for the _'big date'_ and was only waiting for David to arrive, hopefully wearing the right attire for the evening. He waited outside until he spotted a silver BMW Z3 convertible. It was obvious that David was the driver. When he stepped out of the vehicle, Tyler was relieved to see that he was wearing a coat and a tie.

"I see you clean up pretty well," Tyler said. "And the car isn't so bad either."

"Hey, I like to travel with style. What can I say? I'm single, and I'm a doctor. Anyway, you're the one to talk. And what car did you bring today? Car number 5, or is it 7?"

"You're amusing, you know that?" Tyler laughed. "I'm not going to tell you how many cars I have, but I did bring my metallic blue Mustang Convertible."

"Oh, metallic blue. Do you have a red one, too?"

"Maybe," Tyler smiled. "Come on. Let's go in before the ladies arrive."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brooke was a bit apprehensive as she drove to the restaurant. For the first time, she understood what Tyler has been telling her for the last couple of years. 

"Are you nervous?" asked Dana.

"Not really."

__

'That's an understatement,' Brooke thought to herself. Her conversation with David earlier made an impact on her than she wanted to admit. _'Maybe he's right. I do need to get out more. This is like my first official date since who knows when. How pathetic is that? I hope this guy won't turn out like a jerk.'_ As she turned left, the restaurant was right around the corner. After they left the car with the valet parking driver, they went in and asked for the location of their table. Immediately, they spotted Tyler, but the mystery man was out of sight.

"Good evening, Ladies," Tyler stood up as he pulled out a chair for each of them.

"Hey Tyler! This is Dana. Dana, this is Tyler Connell."

"It's nice to meet you," she said.

"My pleasure."

"So, not that I'm thrilled to meet him or anything, but where's my date?" asked Brooke.

"He's in the bathroom. He'll be here in a minute."

Tyler looked over Brooke and saw him coming.

"Actually, he's coming right now."

David spotted them, and like Brooke, was equally curious to find out the identity of his date. Of course, that only lasted until the two of them met face to face.

"YOU!" Brooke and David said simultaneously.

"I don't believe this," Brooke said. "This is not happening. Of all the people to be set up with, it turns out to be you."

David didn't say anything, but the look he gave Tyler said a lot.

"Tyler!" Brooke said, who by now was creating a scene. "This is all your fault. You planned this, didn't you?"

"I didn't know," Tyler denied.

"You had to know. You were so eager to set me up. Just tell me the truth."

"Okay. Alright. Fine. I did set you up with him. I thought it would be a good idea. Why can't you two just settle your differences for one night? If not for me, then for Dana's sake."

"Hey bro," she said softly while David only nodded.

"Tyler, I don't think this is such a good idea."

"Come on, Brooke," Tyler pleaded. "Could you just at least try?"

"I told you already. The answer is no."

"Oh, for crying out loud, can you stop talking and thinking about yourself for just a minute?" David finally spoke up. "Did it not occur to you this whole time that maybe you're not the only one who's disappointed how this whole scenario turned out?"

He never meant to yell at her. To be honest, half of what he said didn't even mean anything. No matter what he was thinking now, the damage has been done and words that are spoken are impossible to take back. He knew that he hurt her, even if it wasn't intended. He can see it in her eyes. In an instant, Brooke stormed out of the restaurant, leaving him and everyone dumbfounded.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, hoping that he had heard him.

In reality, she was too far away to hear. As he turned and sat on his seat, he felt almost every pair or eyes in the room directed at him.

"What are you people looking at? Did you think this was entertaining? Why don't you get back to what you're doing and mind your own business."

He settled his elbows on top of the table and dug his head in the palm of his hands.

"I shouldn't have done that," he said.

"I'm really sorry, man," Tyler said. "I didn't think it would get out of hand."

"I know you meant well. I'm really sorry for messing up your night. I'm sorry to both of you."

"It's okay, David," Dana said. "If I had known, I wouldn't have let this happen."

"Maybe it was for the best," David said. "It made our situation more clearer now. We just hate each other."

"She doesn't hate you," Dana said. "You just don't agree on a lot of things."

"Maybe it's all my fault. I kind of said some stuff the other day. Maybe that triggered something off when she saw me."

"I guess this date is off," Tyler said.

"No, don't let me ruin your date as well. Some of us should at least have fun. This is only the finest eating place in the city."

"How about you?" asked Dana.

"I better leave. I should take some time too cool off. Get everything out of the system."

"I'll see you later then," Dana said.

"Give me a call or something," said Tyler.

"Thanks for everything," he smiled at Tyler.

"I didn't do much good."

"Well, thanks anyway," he said before kissing his sister goodbye. "I'll see you around."

"Bye David," they both said.

"Enjoy!" he said before leaving.

"I guess that leaves you and me," Tyler said. _'This should be interesting.'_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David drove around the block. If someone asked what he was doing, he would tell him or her that he just wanted to get some air. In truth, he was actually searching for Brooke. When he found out that she was his supposed blind date, he was surprised. When he thought more about it, he was amazed to find himself unflustered about the idea. To be frank, he had to admit that there was always something about Brooke that had an effect on him. He couldn't quite figure it out, and as a result, developed a sort of love-hate relationship with her, minus the love. Secretly, he calls her the "untouchable" one. Of all the woman he had tried to charm, she was the only one not to budge.

After going around and around, he eventually got tired and head off to "his spot." Once and a while, he visits a secluded area in the local park where he comes to think and dwell about the stuff going on in his life. The area overlooked the city and had a nice view of the heavens. As he parked his car, he noticed, to his disappointment, that he wasn't alone. _'That's the first.' _Disliking the idea of having company, he decided to leave, until he noticed a familiar red car.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After they ordered their respective meals, a quiet discomfort loomed over them. After the recent turn of events, neither knew or had the guts to start a conversation.

"What a weird night, huh?" Tyler said.

"No kidding."

"I'm really sorry about what happened."

"It's not your fault. I just hope Brooke and my brother are alright."

"Well, speaking of David, I heard that you two are twins."

"Yep, we sure are."

"So, how's it like living with him?"

"We don't live together anymore."

"I see," Tyler said. '_This is tougher than I thought. Could this date be any more boring?'_

"Enough about me," Dana said. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"I know you're supposed to be famous and all, but aside from that, I really have no idea who you are."

"That's a surprise. I wish no one knows who I am."

"I think that the media is overrated," she said. "What do you do anyway?"

"I'm a lawyer," Tyler said. "I own that law firm on Rutherford Boulevard."

"Oh yeah, your surname is Connell. Connell Law, right?"

"Yep, that's the one." _'Please let this be over soon.'_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was stuck in his car with one decision to make: whether to approach Brooke or not. If he chooses to leave, then both of them could have time to think. On the other hand, seeing her in the office the following Monday would be awkward. If he speaks to her now, then the whole entire neighborhood, or at least the animal kingdom situated in the park, would be awakened by the havoc they would create. An upside is that they would settle things once and for all. Going against his better judgment, he approached her with caution.

"It's a nice night, isn't it?" he spoke up.

Brooke knows that voice all too well, but she didn't bother to acknowledge him. Instead, she leaned on the wall railing that allowed her to see the city. From her viewpoint, it resembled a miniature New York City under the full moon.

"How did you find this place?"

She still didn't answer him.

"I always thought that I was the only one who knew about this place. This is the only time that I caught another person here."

"Well, this is a public park, you know," she finally replied. "It's not like you had your name on it or anything. Besides, I most likely found out about this place before you."

"I beg to differ."

"What are you doing here?"

"Probably the same reason why you're here."

"I thought we both agreed that we didn't want to see each other."

"I didn't agree on such a thing."

She finally turned towards him.

"Don't play dumb with me. I know what you said."

"You were the one who made it crystal clear that you loathed the fact that I turned out to be your blind date."

"You were disappointed yourself."

"No, I wasn't."

"Yes, you were. Not only did you say those words, but the way you said them was enough."

"What did you care, anyway? It's not like you wanted me to be your date."

Brooke didn't reply, but simply looked at him. As David looked in her eyes, he couldn't tell the message behind them.

"Why do you hate me so much?" he asked, as his tone grew serious. "I've been around a lot of people, and I know this may shock you, but they do tend to like me. I'm not a bad person. I'm comfortable with who I am, but whenever I'm around you, I feel like I'm the scum of the Earth… the lowest of the low."

"Look, Collins, I don't hate you."

"Then why do you act like it so much?"

"It's not like it's one-sided. You seem to hate me so much yourself."

"I don't hate you."

"So finally, we have one thing in common. We don't hate each other."

David finally laughed for the first time since they had their squabble at the restaurant. Brooke did the same.

"I'm sorry about what I said earlier," he apologized. "I didn't mean what I said. I just said it because what you were saying about me struck a chord. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I should apologize as well. I guess all that came from what you said the other day at the office. It wasn't that I was insulted, but more that I had trouble accepting the fact of how right you were, as much as I hated to admit it."

"Should we call a truce?" he asked, hoping that she would agree.

"Truce," she smiled at him, probably the first smile that she had given to him.

Maybe it was the scenery, the city lights, the stars in the sky, or the bright full moon, but for the first time since he laid his eyes on her, he noticed how amazingly incredible the girl in front of him is. It wasn't only her smile or her blue eyes, but her personality. Until now, the thought really didn't cross his mind, but maybe the blind date wasn't such a bad idea at all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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'This blind date was totally a bad idea,' Tyler told himself as they proceeded to eat their meal. For the past hour and a half, neither of them said a word to each other. The funny part is that he wished he was with Val right now rather than Dana. It occurred to him that he declined to include Alyssa, but for some reason, it didn't quite bother him.

"Did Brooke ever tell you that I have a daughter?" Tyler asked, making his last attempt at conversation.

"I think she mentioned that once. Who's the mother?"

"Her name is Val. Valerie Connell."

"You two were married?"

"No."

"But her last name…"

"I said her name is Valerie Cummings."

"You said Valerie Connell earlier."

__

'Did I really say that? Well, Valerie Connell sounds better than Valerie Cummings… wait, what the heck am I talking about? Am I actually saying these things?'

"I guess I mispronounced."

"So Val is your ex-girlfriend who happened to be the mother of your daughter?"

"Well, yeah, but she's married to some jerk now. I hope she leaves him for good."

Dana looked at him skeptically. _'This guy still has some issues with this woman.'_

"How long have you known her?"

"We've known each other since high school. We dated a few months into junior year. In the middle of college, we broke up. At our friends wedding, we reunited. We were both so drunk and depressed that the next morning, we ended up in the same hotel room on the same bed. She moved to London, then she tells me I'm the father of her unborn child, and the rest is history."

"Well, that was very… um, detailed. So your daughter was basically a mistake?"

"What?" Tyler said in an angry tone. "My daughter is not a mistake. I mean, yeah, we didn't plan on it, but she is the best thing that happened in my life since, well, since her mother and I got together way back then."

"I'm really sorry," she said. "I didn't mean for it to come out like that."

"I'm sorry for getting angry."

"This Val that you talk about… what is she like?"

"She's the greatest person you will ever know. She's terrific. She's funny in her own way, or at least she makes me laugh. She's smart. She's amazing. Back in high school, I used to worship her. We were like the typical high school couple stereotype. I was the football jock, and she was a cheerleader. We also worked together, which is good and bad in a relationship. We've been through a lot. When we broke up, it was the hardest thing that I ever had to do. I mean, to think that if I opted to speak first instead of letting her do it, maybe we would've been married by now."

"Tyler, can you stop for a sec? I only asked you what she's like, not an analysis of your relationship."

"Was I really doing that?" _'This is worse than I thought.'_

"If I didn't know any better, I would say that you still have some feelings for this woman."

"You've got to be kidding me," Tyler let out a laugh, although the idea wasn't even funny at all.

"Even though I'm doing the similar type of job that Brooke has, I did major in psychology. Basically, I can see right through you."

"Now you're bluffing."

"Am I really?"

"I can't possibly have feelings for her. That's impossible."

"You were just dwelling on the possibility a while ago that you could've been married. I would assume that you wanted to propose. It must have been a heartbreaking for you."

"Oh, now you're acting like you're my shrink?"

"Seeing how worked up you became when I brought up that topic, I deduce that you Tyler Connell is in a state of denial."

"As of now, you are really starting to get on your nerves."

"That's what shrinks are for, so I guess I'm doing a pretty good job."

"Okay, you know what, let's stop talking about me and more about you. How did you breakup with your boyfriend?"

"We didn't really breakup. It was all a big misunderstanding."

"How long have you two been together?"

"We've been together for five years. Heck, we're even engaged, except I threw the ring back at him."

"What happened?"

"Now you're starting to act like my shrink," she smiled.

"Am I doing good?"

"For an amateur."

"So what's happened again?"

"I heard that something was going on with him and some girl, so I followed him. When I saw him kissing her, I just lost it. When he got back, I confronted him with what I witnessed, and he got upset at me for not trusting him. It turned out that he was working on an undercover mission. The worst part is that the girl was his ex. We've had fights like this before, but we never went more than a week without forgiving each other." 

"Why not call him and talk it out?"

"My friends tell me not to. They said that it wouldn't be a good idea. I know that he's not doing any better than I am."

"Your friends are your friends, but your love life, your life, rests in you own hands."

"That's what I keep telling myself, but what if he doesn't forgive me?"

"Like they say, love is a gamble. To win big, you have to bet big. In love, you have to put everything on the line. If you truly love someone, then it's good to know that at least you tried. If it's meant to be, then it is. If it's not, then it's not. It's as simple as that."

"It's funny how things turn out, doesn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Here we both are, telling each other advice about each other's love life, when we were supposed to be on a blind date."

"Well, as far as blind dates go, this one is a disaster. It all started with Brooke and David earlier, but talking to you didn't turn out bad. Good things always come out after every disaster."

"Thank you so much for helping me."

"It's my pleasure."

"Have you thought about what I said?"

"About Val? You're joking, right?"

"Well, you may not believe any of those things right now, but you'll see what I mean."

"Whatever you say."

"You know what, we should have lunch or dinner some time."

"Lunch or dinner?" _'Is she asking me on a date?'_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brooke continued to gaze over the scenery. Time and time again, she would take a peek at David from the corner of her eye. Despite her reservations about him, he turns out to be a really nice guy. Even just standing next him makes her feel safe. 

"Are you cold?" he asked.

"A little bit."

In an instant, he took of his jacket and offered it to her.

"Thanks," Brooke said as she gave him a smile. "That's very nice of you."

David returned her smile, causing Brooke's heart to skip a beat. The fact both of his hands were still on her shoulder didn't help at all to ease her nervousness. For the last ten seconds, she noticed that the two of them have been staring at each other, and no matter how much she tried to turn her gaze away from him, the harder it was for her to let go.

"You have amazing eyes," he said, and the way he said it was nothing like he had sounded before.

"It must be the moonlight."

"Maybe."

As Brooke continued to gaze at him, something clicked inside her. For the first time, she was seeing a part of him that all those other women have been seeing since they had dated him. Was she jealous of them then? Maybe a little. But why hasn't she seen this side of him before? Maybe it was because they always had banters between each other. As the time got longer, she got more anxious.

"I… I better go," Brooke stammered as she proceeded to give him back his jacket.

"Do you need a ride?" he asked, sensing the tension between them.

"That's okay, really," Brooke said. "I have my car over there."

Brooke tried to search her purse for her car keys, but she had no luck finding it.

"Looking for this?" he asked. "You dropped it."

Brooke sighed. It wasn't because she almost lost her keys, but the fact that she had to go near him again actually terrified her. As she grabbed the keys from her hand, he took a hold of hers.

"Can I ask you something?"

"If you let go of my hand."

"I'm sorry," he said. "Would you like to go out sometime? Maybe?"

Brooke stared at him in shock. Never in a million years has she anticipated this to happen. Something tells her that she shouldn't accept his offer, but just staring at him, looking more sincere than she had ever seen him, causes her to accept otherwise.

"I guess we can arrange that. Maybe."

"I'll see you around then."

David watched her leave. It was still a shock to him that he had asked her out. It wasn't the first time that he had asked somebody out, as Brooke pointed out to him the other day, but asking Brooke felt different. He felt something that he hasn't felt before in a long time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well, that's what I said. It's not a date or anything."

"Right."

"It's just that you're doing a better job on me than my friends are. I did have fun talking to you. You know, we'll be each other's shrink for free."

"I have to admit that I had fun myself. I never thought I'd find a friend in you."

"I thought of the same thing," she smiled.

After they exchanged phone numbers and made plans for their next meet, they left the restaurant.

"I suppose you need a ride," Tyler said.

"How did you ever guess?"

Thirty minutes later, Tyler finally arrived home. He still had a lot of things to take care of, starting with apologizing to Brooke and talking to David. Most of all, he had to sort out his situation with Val. The more he replayed what Dana said, the more he started to believe it. When he got in, he was surprised to see Val still awake. _'She wasn't waiting up for me, was she?'_

"Why are you still awake?"

"Oh, hey, I didn't even hear you come in. I was just watching something."

"Braveheart?"

"You got to love Mel Gibson and his blue face," Val lied. "So, how's your date?"

"It didn't start out well, but it ended well. I was actually… enlightening."

"Enlightening?"

"Well, you know, we got to talking. I really learned some interesting stuff."

"Stuff about what? What did you learn?"

"I just realized," Tyler started, "that I was wrong about something."

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That was quite long. I'm just glad I finished it. I hope you liked it. It's been a long while since I've updated this. I hope you're still reading. I'll try to follow up as soon as I can. I'll be going on another vacation soon, so I hope to get the next chapter up by then. Like I said many times before, I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


	17. No More Denial

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic, except the ones that you don't recognize. Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth own them all. I also don't own any place or location that you might recognize.

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Realization of Fate

No More Denial

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It was a gorgeous day. The sun was bright, and the birds flew overhead, sharing their wonderful music. The garden was decorated, mostly with white flowers, to commemorate a special occasion… the union of two individuals. All their relatives sat in the audience to witness their vows. It was everything a bride could ever dream…

"Do you Tyler Connell take… to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

"Do you… take Tyler Connell to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

"If anyone has any reason why these two people should not marry, speak up now or forever hold your peace."

"Stop!"

Everyone turned around and looked behind them as a woman burst into the scene.

"Val? What are you doing?"

"You can't marry her."

"Why not?"

"You were wrong about something."

The crowd gasped and its attention to Tyler.

"What are you talking about?"

"You were wrong about something."

"Val, are you all right?"

"Tyler, tell me!"

"Tell you what?"

"You were wrong about something."

"If I tell you, would you let me be and get on with my wedding?"

"Tell me, Tyler. Please."

"I was wrong about…"

The alarm went off. Val sat up from her bed, breathing heavily with beads of sweat on her forehead. It took a few moments before the after effects of the dream settled in.

"This cannot be happening," she told herself as she lay back down on the bed. "The same damn dream."

It was six o'clock. She got up to get ready for work and headed for the mirror. Suddenly, morning sickness took its toll, and she ran for the bathroom. She hadn't had one for a couple of days, which was quite understandable considering that she is about a week away from her third month of pregnancy. After she took a shower and got dressed, Val went downstairs to find something to eat. As usual, Tyler was already there with her own breakfast ready before her.

"Good morning, Val!" he greeted her cheerfully as he looked up from his paper.

"You seem awfully chipper," Val said as she took a seat.

"I do? Well, that's good. How are you this morning?"

"Except for the morning sickness and that ridiculous dream, I'll be fine."

"Well, that's good. Not a bad dream, I hope."

"No, not a bad one… just ridiculous and strange and all things I can't explain."

"Well, if you must know, I had a strange dream as well. You were there."

"I was? What was I doing?"

"Nothing too strange, but you were really persistent."

"Persistent about what?"

"You kept asking me for something. I can't really remember what it was, but like I said, you were very unrelenting about it."

Val looked down at her plate and started to eat. She glanced back at Tyler and then turned her attention somewhere. Apparently, they had a similar, and she was, sort of, the center of attention. Ever since Tyler went home the other night and told her about him being wrong about something and not saying anything more about it, curiosity got to her. Was he wrong about his date? Was he wrong about her? These were just a couple of questions that she asked herself.

"Have you visited the doctor recently?"

"What?" Val looked up as the fork fell from her hand.

"Are you all right? You seem a bit edgy."

"I'm fine. What did you say again?"

"I was asking about you visiting the doctor lately about the baby."

"I have an appointment next week. It's really nothing much to worry about. I work in the hospital after all."

"Are you set to move out tomorrow?"

"We're all packed and ready. It is Friday today, right?"

"Freaky Friday," he smiled. "Are you working today?"

"Isn't that why I'm awake at this hour?"

"Good point. Is Hank coming?"

"He's coming later to give me a ride. He's being so nice about the whole thing. I know that he's busy, but he still offers to help me."

"Well, that's quite understandable. We're talking about Hank here after all. Given your present situation, I wouldn't want you driving by yourself."

"I'm not that far in my pregnancy. Besides, the real problem is me driving again. I got used to that whole driving on the left side of the road thing, and the last thing I need is getting a gazillion billion tickets from the police officer."

"Gazillion billion?"

"You know what I mean."

"You know, I can always drive you to work."

"The hospital is not on your route."

"It's not like I can't afford to be late," he pointed out. "Besides, I'd love to see where you work."

"I thought you've been there already."

"That's true," he paused. "The thing is that I just want to help out."

"You've done so much already, Tyler. I don't even know how to begin to repay you."

"Taking good care of our daughter over these last few years and having her near me now is more than enough."

They stared at each other for a moment before they heard a bark from a distance.

"Is it just me, or did I hear a dog bark?" asked Val.

"I do have a dog after all."

"Oh yea, you do. I haven't seen her in a while."

"I left her with my parents because I was afraid that Alyssa was allergic. I didn't think she was, but I just wanted to be cautious and all."

"Well, she's not allergic to dogs."

"That's why I brought Jessica back. Alyssa mentioned something about Seth's dog, so I assumed she wasn't allergic."

"He had a white Scottish Terrier," Val smiled. "He named the dog Prince Charles because it had a ridiculously big pair of ears."

"Did you talk to him already?"

"Not yet."

"You have to do it some time. The sooner the better."

"I will tell him when the time is right."

"Do you miss him?"

"I guess, maybe, I don't know. I don't really know what I feel about him."

"Do you love him?"

Val stared at him for a moment. Suddenly, the mood in the room has gotten serious. Of all the things he could ask her, it was the one she least expected.

"Yes, but not in the way that I'm supposed to love him."

"Are you saying that you _love_ him, but you're not _in love_ with him?"

"Something like that, and that is the main reason why I'm divorcing him."

"Doesn't he have the right to know about this?"

"Tyler, I'll do what I feel is right. Right now, I really don't feel like telling him, so can we please just drop it?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I promise I won't bring it up again or interfere with what you want to do."

"Thank you," she said as she stood up. "I better get ready."

Val left the table and headed to her room, leaving Tyler alone. He kicked himself for upsetting her. He didn't feel right about the whole situation with her soon to be ex-husband. Anything can happen, and the more she waits to tell him, the bigger chance for things to complicate themselves. Whether he wanted to or not, he was in the middle of it, and he feels guilty for that reason. His train of thought was disrupted by the beep of Hank's car.

"Hey Beecham!" he greeted as he let him in. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. And you?"

"I'm okay."

"I heard that your date went pretty well."

"From whom?"

"I have my sources."

"If you must know, it went well."

"Are you seeing her again?"

"Maybe for lunch or dinner or something."

"Do you like her?"

"Not romantically."

"What do you mean? I thought you're going to see her again."

"As a friend. We talked about our exes the whole night, and she was engaged to hers. We sort of just helped each other with our issues."

"So you're not interested in her?"

"Not a single bit."

"Well, maybe next time."

"No way. No more blind dates for me."

A couple of minutes later, Val finally finished and came down.

"Hi Hank! Thanks once again for doing this for me."

"Anytime. I better start up the car while you say goodbye and all. Don't take too long."

"I won't."

"It was nice talking to you, Connell."

"You, too."

After Hank left, Val turned her attention to Tyler.

"Don't forget to take Alyssa to school."

"Of course, I wont," Tyler laughed. "How could I?"

"Oh yea, you're only the most responsible guy in the world."

"Being a little sarcastic now, aren't we?"

"Well, yes and no. There's sarcasm in it, and then there's also truth to that whole thing."

"You better go."

"I'll see you later."

"I want to tell you that…"

"What?"

"I… Forget it. Just go."

"If you say so."

Tyler watched from the door as the vehicle left. When it was out of sight, he finished his sentence.

"I wanted to tell you that I was wrong about… you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brooke tried to do everything that she could get her hands on. For the past week, it wouldn't be wrong to say that she had finished almost a month load of work. Of course, that wasn't the intended purpose of her sudden enthusiasm for work. She had been avoiding David, and as long as she kept herself busy, he wouldn't be able to bother her. Their night ended… awkwardly. The thought of talking to him again was not something she wished to deal with at the moment. The phone rang.

"Hello, Brooke Lanier speaking."

"Finally, you pick up the phone."

"Val? Is that you?"

"Yes, and where have you been this whole week? I've been trying to call, and you wouldn't answer. When I stopped by for a minute two days ago, you were too busy too see anybody. What's up with you?"

"It's complicated. Why did you call?"

"What have you heard about Tyler's blind date?"

"What?"

"I'm just curious. You know how I am."

"Didn't he tell you?"

"He didn't tell me anything, except that he was wrong about who knows what or whom?"

"Well, as I heard from Dana, it went quite well. They're planning to see each other again."

Val tried to hide her disappointment.

"They are?"

"I suppose he didn't tell you that too."

"Well, what else happened?"

"I don't really know. Dana mentioned something about them having an extensive conversation about their exes."

"So Tyler is still hung up on Andrea?"

"How should I know? Why are you asking me anyway? Go ask him."

"How was your date? Who was it?"

"I don't even want to talk about him."

"Do I know this guy?"

"He turned out to be the class act jerk I was telling you about."

"I guess it went pretty bad."

"We caused a scene at the restaurant before I left."

"You left him there?"

"That was the idea, but he somehow found his way to me into the woods."

"The woods?"

"In the park."

"So what happened?"

"We sort of talked, and he turned about to be… really nice. It was awkward."

"Awkward?"

"He asked me out."

"What did you say?"

"I said _'maybe'._"

"Did you go out with him yet? Any plans?"

"None whatsoever."

"He didn't call or anything?"

"I wouldn't know. I've been avoiding him for the past week."

"You've been avoiding me?" someone asked from the door.

Brooke looked up and saw him standing there. How did he get in? Who knows. All she knew was that she had some explaining to do.

"Val, I'll call you back."

She turned her attention back to him. It's been only a week since she last saw him, and yet he appears to be a different person to her now.

"What can I do for you, Collins?" she asked as he closed the door. "As you can see, I'm very busy."

David looked at her desk and saw that she had mostly taken care of everything.

"Why are you avoiding me?"

"I'm not avoiding you."

"You just said earlier that you were avoiding me for the past week."

"Who ever said that it was you? Talk about ego."

Before he responded, he realized what was happening to them once again. They were back to their old ways, and as much as he found pleasure in their bickering before, it wasn't what he wanted at the moment.

"Brooke, don't push me away."

"I am not pushing you away."

"We need to talk about what happened this weekend."

"I'm sorry, but I don't find any reason for us to talk about it."

"Well, knowing the events in the past week, I think we do need to talk about it."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Did it scare you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Brooke. Just answer the question."

"You want to know the truth? Fine! Yes, it did scare me. For the time that we have worked together, I hated you. You made my each of my day miserable. Up until that night, I thought I knew you and what you're all about, but I was wrong. I don't think I know you at all. The thought of going out with a stranger scares me, and I don't like it."

"What about me? Don't you think it scared me at all? I felt the same way about you. When we had that talk that night, you seemed like a totally different person. Everything I knew about you was wrong. Where's the old Brooke Lanier? Until recently, I didn't know how to explain it, but then I realized that maybe it was the real you all along. The person that I didn't care to see… the side of you that I overlooked. I had trouble accepting it, but the truth of the matter is that I like you. I don't know when or how it happened. All I know is that whatever you did, YOU MADE ME CARE."

Brooke was on the verge of crying. David's words really tugged at her heart. If she spoke at that moment, she would definitely end up crying.

"I'm sorry, David," she sobbed. "I can't do this. It's too hard."

"We have to do something," he said. "We can't go on like this."

"I need time."

"You had five days to think about it."

"David…"

"Brooke…"

"Why are you pushing this so much?"

"Because I don't want to lose you. Every day that passes without us talking to each other pushes you further away from me. Damn it, Brooke! Don't you get it by now?"

"Would you calm down? Stop cursing and stop yelling at me! Damn it, sit down!"

David was taken aback by her response and immediately abided her request.

"I'm sorry about that," Brooke said, followed by a deep breath. "I didn't mean to yell."

"I understand…" 

"No, you don't," she said. "Just don't say anything and listen. This is really hard for me. I'm flattered by what you said, and it really means a lot, but I haven't figured out things the way that you have. I'm still confused. You have to understand. Our history was not the best. How do I know if I can trust you?"

"I understand your point. Our history was a rocky one, and as for your question, only you can answer that. I can tell you different reasons of why you can and should trust me, but it wouldn't matter what I say. You have to decide for yourself."

"Great! More decisions to make."

"Do you want to go out tonight?"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm asking you out."

"I need more time."

"More time will lead you nowhere. The first step is to do something about it."

"And you think that going out with you tonight is the first thing to do?"

"We'll take it slowly. We'll go watch a movie, eat dinner, the works."

"No strings attached?"

"None. I just want to get to know you better."

"You're very persistent, you know that."

"Only when it's important," he smiled at her, causing Brooke to blush. "I have to leave now, but I'll pick you up around seven-thirty."

"Seven-thirty it is."

"Great! I'll see you then."

After he left, Brooke checked her watch. She has 7 hours, 20 minutes, and 45 seconds left… 44…43… 42… 41…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'M GETTING MARRIED!!!" she squealed.

Tyler fought the urge to cover his ears. He did not want to disrespect her, especially in this time of joy. He had a lot of things in his mind during the course of the day, so he called Dana up while he was at work, and they decided to meet at a nearby restaurant. There may be a chance that she could help him. His hope was diminished. For the most part of the meeting, Dana has been gushing about her recent reconciliation with Jonathan McMillan, her beau and once again, fiancé. 

"I know you are. You've been telling me that for the last twenty-five minutes."

"I'm so sorry, but I'm just excited. I know we were engaged before that whole mix up, but I feel great right now."

"I'm happy for you. I really am."

Dana looked at him and started to calm down. She remembered the reason of their meeting: he called her, which translates to the fact that he is in desperate need of advice.

"Why did you call me to come here? Is there a problem?"

"Maybe we shouldn't talk about it. I don't want to rain on your parade."

"I've done most of the talking…"

"No kidding."

"I've done most of the talking already," she reiterated. "Tell me what's bothering you."

"Fine! You were right."

"Right about what?"

"You were right about her."

"Is this Val we're talking about?"

"I still have feelings for her. They weren't an issue before people started bringing it up. They were buried deep down inside of me that not even an excavator can help unearth it. All of a sudden, they started to resurface from their graves like the _Night of the Living Dead_."

"From what you have said, I gather that you're quite an intelligent man, you have a way with words, and you have issues."

"Great! I've become Albert Einstein."

"What's the problem with that?"

"I like my hair the way it is."

"Not him. Val!"

"She's involved… sort of."

"What does that mean?"

"She's still married to this guy, and she's carrying his baby."

"I guess that means she's off limits."

"Well, she is divorcing him..."

"Well, that's good, isn't it?"

"Only he doesn't know about it yet."

"About the divorce?"

"That and the baby."

"Am I sensing guilt here?"

"But should I be guilty?"

"You haven't even done anything."

"But I feel like I'm betraying him, even though he's a jerk."

"I'm sorry, Tyler, but I can't help you on this one."

"Can't you at least try?"

"No, because first, I'm a woman, and second, this problem is way too complicated for me."

"Then where do I go? I need some friendly advice."

"Why don't you go to your guy friends? You do have some, right?"

"I should do that, shouldn't I?" he said as he got up. "Thank you. I know you could help."

"I'm just repaying your advice. Maybe this time, you should follow it yourself."

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I hope you liked it! School is almost here again, but I'll try to follow up sooner :( I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182


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